


Leave Me Be in My Grief

by RougueShadowWolf



Series: 15 Minutes [40]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, Always Female Stiles Stilinski, Cheating Derek Hale, Discussion of Abortion, F/M, Female Stiles Stilinski, Hurt Stiles, Sad Stiles, Teen Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-24
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2018-02-14 12:20:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 26
Words: 80,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2191623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RougueShadowWolf/pseuds/RougueShadowWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles had never thought Derek capable of the cruelty he’d shown her. And she’d never thought she could be such a sad idiot as she was, but the child growing inside her proves her stupidity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Fem Stiles again. I swear this could have turned out better if I didn’t have so little time to do the idea in my head justice…. but well this is what happened when my friends asked me to write something with fem-Stiles who catches Derek fucking someone else, she cuts of all her ties with him only to learn later on that she’s pregnant with his baby, I was also asked to have Melissa in it as support for the pregnant teenager. This is what happened and two of my friends liked it even though they both agreed it could have needed a bit more time to become juicer, but the rules are rules. And I’ll admit it took me seven minutes to come up with the story so in the end I only had 8 minutes to work with…. but seriously it turned out better than I’d thought although I’d would have loved to have written everything I had thought about; I had this idea about the ice-bath and everything, but no…

 

Stiles ran and stumbled up the stairs of the building Derek had settled into after a little bit of pestering from one Stiles Stilinski, although she had hoped he’d find a less creeper place but beggars couldn’t be choosers or something like that right. And in all honesty the loft was an improvement considering a proper Alpha couldn’t continue living in a burned out shell of a house that had been his childhood home forever, or in an abandoned train depot for months, it just didn’t give a good impression to _anyone_. 

 

Stiles had chosen the stairs instead of therickety and somewhat terrifying freight elevator, the stairs was the faster option anyway even with all the stumbling and falling she did on the way; her knees were bruised and bleeding when she finally reached the door she couldn’t have reached fast enough.

 

Stiles didn’t bother to knock because if there was even a chance Derek was indeed alive as Ethan had sworn to be a possibility, then her Alpha was probably in such a bad shape that he wouldn’t be able to respond let alone open the door for her.She didn’t even consider Derek being in any other shape than bleeding and hurt because there hadn’t been a single word from Derek even after all the messages she had left him, it hadn’t matter that Scott had called her and told her Derek was dead because she’d spent hours calling the Alpha and leaving one message after another for him; most tearful pleads for him to just not be dead, other’s threats about killing him if he indeed was alive and didn’t contact her immediately, there were even promises made which she was more than willing to keep if she found him alive. 

 

And so with trembling hands she unlocked the door with the spare key Derek had given her. 

 

_ `You’re giving me a key? A real key? To this place? ´ Stiles asked eyes wide; she couldn’t believe she was holding a key to the loft.She’d only been given a key once before and that was the one to her own house. _

 

_ `Yes.´ Derek said short, gruff, but she could hear something that made her heart flutter in her chest.  _

 

_ `Why?´ she turned her gaze to the Alpha who was standing right there, they were so close that she was almost expecting him to lean down and kiss her, oh how she wished he would.  _

 

_ `Because I,´ there was a frown on the handsome face she wished she could admire just once without blushing from her ears to her toes, then with a look of resolve Derek Hale said the most wonderful thing Stiles had ever heard, `I trust you.´ _

 

Stiles ignores the memory, it’s not important now. All that was important was to find the Alpha.

 

_ Please be there, please be alive,  _ was the only thought in her mind as she pulled the heavy door open as fast as she could with her sore arms which was a small price to pay for saving the lives of her friends and Ethan. The fact that she’d managed to get herself on the bus without Coach Finstock noticing her was just another piece of evidence regarding her invisibility to most people, but if she hadn’t been there then everyone from Scott to Ethan would be dead. 

 

Stiles wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting to find behind the door, blood and lots of it, and maybe Derek crumpled on the floor too weak to reach the couch or the bed, and of course she was expecting to find the loft terrifyingly empty of Derek.But what she hadn’t expected to find was Derek Hale almost completely naked except for the sheet he quickly pulled over his lower-half. What Stiles hadn’t been able to even dream about was finding Derek perfectly fine.

 

At the mere sight of him alive and so very well eased the horrendous ache that had been festering inside her, and so without hesitation she sprinted towards the Alpha who looked very shocked to see her, and regardless of the scraped knees and palms or the aches and pains in her arms and legs Stiles Stilinski launched herself at the one who’d stolen her heart. 

 

She ends up knocking the air out of both of them when she crashes into Derek, but she doesn’t care about that for one second, instead she starts peppering the Alpha’s face with desperate kisses and while tears of the most wonderful joy escape her, and she keeps saying over and over again with an air of wonder, `You’re alive.´ 

 

At any other time Stiles might have noticed the tension in Derek even if they had been across the room from each other, but at that moment finding Derek alive and well was enough to make her blind to what warnings were in the air. All she could see was him all she could sense was him alive. 

 

`You’re alive.´ Stiles says for what must be the twentieth time, pulling away just enough so that she could frame the face of the werewolf before her with her trembling hands, `Oh God Derek we thought you were dead. We thought you were dead because Scott saw you fall. He saw you fall but there wasn’t a body, and trust me I went there and I looked and looked and couldn’t find you. Scott saw you fall and he was sure that you didn’t survive...´

 

`Stiles.´ the Alpha says but Stiles continues to tell him how she’d barely slept, thinking of all the horrible things the Alpha’s might have done to Derek’s body and she lets out a small sob when she tells him how she couldn’t handle the thought of not even having a proper grave to visit, she keeps on talking until he snaps at her once more, `Stop.´ 

 

Stiles goes silent and her smile falters even before he pushes her away from him causing Stiles to stumble back, she’s confused and hurt about this treatment because she’d thought they were past all this.She frowns and opens her mouth to speak or just to question Derek’s odd behavior, to suggest head allow her to take him to Deaton’s because maybe he’d hit his head like really bad, but before she can a distinctively feminine voice calls out, `Derek? ´

 

Stiles head snapped to the direction of the voice that registered in her head as familiar. She can feel her eyes widening at the sight of this person who shouldn’t be in the loft with a half-naked Derek. Her heart does something strange inside her, and she sways a bit where she’s standing, and she feels really nauseas again she’d thought the stupid stomach bug had left her but no.

 

~*~

 

Derek knows the extent of Stiles ability to put two and two together, she’d always prided herself with that particular talent, he knows his state of undress and the way the English teacher was pretty much in the same state of undress will be enough to reveal what he had been up too before Stiles’ arrival. 

 

`Ms. Stilinski what are you doing here? ´ Jennifer asked which just happened to be the wrong question to ask because anger visibly flares behind whiskey-colored eyes. Which isn’t really faire considering Jennifer had done nothing wrong.

 

`What am I doing here? ´ Stiles yelled, tears of joy now replaced with tears of hurt and anger, there’s a part of him that wishes he’d never seen Stiles like this, and Derek reaches out to just give her a little bit of comfort but she moves away and it’s clear she’s not ready to allow him to comfort her. 

 

Stiles turns her gaze towards Derek and she looks like he’d just ripped out her heart and stumped on it, and maybe that would have caused her less pain, `How could you?´ it’s barely above a whisper, and Derek doesn’t have the words to tell her he’s sorry because she’s silenced him with her sadness. 

 

`What’s going on here?´ the Jennifer asks, and moves to Derek’s side, wrapping her arms around his waist and he can’t help reaching out wrap his own arms around her, he can’t understand how he can be so cruel to show this new found affection he has for the woman. 

 

A loud sob erupts from Stiles for tries to silence it with her trembling hand, covering her mouth but the broken sobs keep coming loud enough for anyone in the room to hear it, Derek can hear each and every one of them. Stiles continues to shake her head and her eyes keep imploring him to do something, to fix her broken heart.

 

`Nothing.´ Derek says voice tight, it’s almost like he doesn’t want to say it, `I think you should go Stiles.´ 

 

Stiles just stands there, trembling and crying, it’s not until Jennifer points out that Stiles doesn’t look like she should drive herself home that the teenager snaps out and just throws the key Derek gave her, it hits him right between the eyes.And Stiles screams like she was the banshee of their pack, `I don’t need anything from either one of you! ´ and she storms towards the door and he calls out for her and Stiles does pause for a moment and Derek asks her, almost begs her to allow him to drive her home or to Scott’s but she shakes her head and hisses at him.

 

`Dead people can’t drive Derek.´ the words make no sense to him, not until Scott appears hours later informing Derek he’s dead to Stiles, there’s no more going to her for help or advice. Stiles leaves the loft closing the door behind her with unnecessary force. Derek can hear her crying, and he moves towards the only thing Stiles had liked about the loft, from the gigantic window he can see her stumble out of the building and there is a strange ache inside his chest as he watches her slip inside the vehicle that he’d more than once repaired just to be sure the rust-bucket didn’t leave the girl stranded somewhere. Once inside the car she has a complete breakdown that involves screaming, crying, and she goes as far as hitting the anything she can reach with her tiny fists; he winches and whines the times she hits her head against the steering wheel, he hears her cursing herself for thinking he loved her, she laughs manically about how stupid she’d been to think anyone could love her skinny ass. 

 

Derek almost goes to her, but Jennifer is there and she’s kissing him and in the end Stiles needed to cool down. Even Jennifer agreed Stiles need time. Who knew that hours later he was faced with a furious Scott baring the information Stiles was dead to Derek and Derek was dead to Stiles, unless of course Derek wanted Scott to slit his throat. 

 

** ~*~ **

 

Stiles stared at the image on the screen her heart racing with trepidation. She wants the image to stay dark and grey. She wishes hard that there isn’t anything inside her that doesn’t belong inside her. She needs this scan to prove all six of the home pregnancy tests wrong, she needs this scan to prove the doctor wrong. Stiles wants, _needs_ , to be empty of this possible leech inside her. Skinny and scrawny Stiles Stilinski needs the bump, she refused to call it a baby bump even now, that had slowly been growing stretching her stomach and skin even if she couldn’t keep food down.

 

`Breathe honey.´ Melissa tells her while one of her hands was holding Stiles tightly, grounding her, helping Stiles not to have a panic attack until there really was no more denying the mistake she’d created with Derek Hale. 

 

Stiles switches her attention between the screen and Melissa, there’s almost something comforting about having Melissa there even if Melissa’s attention is focused on seeing something resembling a new life on the screen.Stiles knows the moment something unwanted has been found by the way the pressure on her belly stops moving, and the way Melissa’s eyes widen and how her hand squeezed her hand just a little bit tighter.

 

`Oh honey.´ Melissa says softlysounding sad, there’s no disappointed only sadness, disappointment was reserved for Stiles father. 

 

`Get it out. Get it out.´ Stiles starts screaming the moment she sees the image of her mistake. Stiles had done enough research, counted the days from the first and last time she’d slept with Derek, she knows she’s still got time to get rid of the thing inside her although she knows she’ll need Deaton to do it just in case the baby is a werewolf. 

 

** ~*~ **

 

It’s a shock to say the least when he finally sees Stiles, when he’s finally in the same space as she is in and it’s only because the Darach has taken her father that Stiles had finally stopped avoiding him like the plague. At first Derek is just happy to see her because the amount of time she had stayed awayhad felt like an eternity to him even with Jennifer by his side he’d missed Stiles. The happiness he feels is strange and powerful enough that he doesn’t realize the reason behind her arrival, but then he hears the accusations made towards the woman he loves and Derek feels an anger unfamiliar and dark rise inside him; it demands him to kill both Scott and Stiles but the Stiles shaped hole inside him demands him to listen carefully to the Stilinski girl and he knows she deserves at least that from him, and so he fights down the want to slay her fights off the desire to feel her warm blood on his hands and taste it on his tongue.

 

Derek tilts his head the way that always had made Stiles giggle and call him a giant puppy, and he can’t hear a lie in her words her heartbeat that had changed in a strange and unfamiliar way did not skip, not once. And as he allows the beats of that stubborn muscle of her flesh he hears another heartbeat coming from her and it startles him upright.

 

His heart nearly stops when he recognizes the change in Stiles scent as the same familiar motherly scent his mother and aunts had when they were expecting, it was a scent his mother had explained that was meant to protect the expecting female from attacks from own pack mates and those from other packs. 

 

`You’re pregnant.´ Derek gasps, which causes Scott to bark at him to focus on the real problem, and Stiles who continues to ignore him like Derek had truly died just begs Jennifer to give the Sheriff back. Something about the knowledge that Stiles had moved on to someone new, that this new person had gone as far as impregnate her, made him see red. But he can’t focus on this anger because Stiles and Scott are accusing his girlfriend of horrible and untrue things. 

 

It’s only when Jennifer reveals her true form that the truth comes out and he loses it, this is just another woman who has been using him, another woman who has played him for a fool. Every fiber of Derek’s now disenchanted being demands him to kill the monster he’s slept with, the monster that had caused him to break Stiles heart enough so that the girl refused to even acknowledge his presence, but Derek just can’t because this foul creature in female-form tells them they will never find the Sheriff without her, and Derek has already hurt Stiles in more ways than one and he can’t be the cause behind the loss of Stiles father. 

 

Jennifer laughs where he’d dropped her, cruel and hateful, but he finds the strength to not rip her throat out with his teeth when focuses on Stiles heartbeat and her scent which has changed a great deal from the last time he had taken in her scent; the chemical scent of her medication was barely there pushing forth the wonderful scent of pure Stiles… and him? 

 

Derek opens his eyes and stares at the girl who’d told him she loved him long before the abomination of a woman had slipped into Derek’s heart and bed, there is only one viable reason why Stiles would still smell like him like she belonged to him and that was if the life growing inside her was his. And by the heavens he finds himself wishing it was his. 

 

`Mine?´ he asks mouth suddenly dry, heart fluttering in his chest and while his wolf growled slightly at the knowledge it had not been caring for its mate and child, that they had been left to defend for themselves. 

 

Stiles retreats behind Scott’s back shaking her head and whispering tearfully, `I just want my dad back.´ 

 

`She’s not keeping it.´ Jennifer cackles from the floor eyes on Derek, there’s only cruelty and madness so similar to Kate’s that Derek wonders how these women find him, ` Deaton’s preparing everything to extract that mutt growing inside her.´ Derek can’t hear a lie in the words, but he’s not heard a single one the entire time he’s spent with the Jennifer, so he turns his attention back towards Stiles who has wrapped her arms around Scott’s middle and still hiding behind her so-called brother. 

 

`Stiles? ´ Derek can’t believe Stiles wouldn’t keep their child, she’s always been so nurturing and good, so full of love and affection. He can’t believe that Stiles who’d told him more than once that she loved him, wouldn’t want their child. Derek can’t believe Stiles would want to kill someone innocent and small and helpless. 

 

`This is not the time Derek.´ Scott growls but which has the bitch on the floor laughing even harder, `He’s not supposed to know about the spawn is he? ´ the question causes Stiles to glare at the Darach and she spits out, `Nope. He wasn’t. ´ and that’s when Derek things he’s heart stops because he knows then that Stiles is actually planning to end the life of their child, she’d planned to do it without _him_ knowing about it. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They could hear the little life alive and strong within the young body of Stiles Stilinski, and even if she didn't want the child they would protect it, save it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a few of you have wished for me to continue this story, although I have yet to decide what to do, I seriously have no idea. I asked my friends to read the three ideas I have, and none of them agreed on one of them all three of them liked a different one. So I’m still thinking about either doing the Abortion which would save Stiles father but it would put a strain on not only Stiles relationship with Derek but Peter will also turn on Stiles, and well Stiles has to deal with her choices as well. And then there’s the idea of her sacrificing herself and the baby for the sake of her father who isn’t thrilled about the choice she made even if he wasn’t thrilled with her having sex and he does sort of grow a little bitter, and yes her father lives on but like Derek struggles to deal with what she’s done and once more Peter is less than supportive of her choice. And then there is the choice of Stiles having the baby but choosing the baby ends up killing her father because although Derek promised to save the Sheriff he failed miserably, and so there she is pregnant and orphaned, and she’s not handling the guilt well and oh so much more but while she’s miserable both Derek and Peter are thrilled (although Derek also feels guilt over what happened to the sheriff).  
> Sorry for the ranting but I seriously have NO IDEA what to do. Oh and before someone gets her panties in a twist about the fact that things aren’t going exactly like in the show, basically because I’ve been sick for a few days now (high fever) and my memory is rather fuzzy at the moment in regards of EVERYTHING!

 

 

 

Derek couldn’t stop Stiles from tagging along he couldn’t stop her from possibly risking her own life and that of their child, and it made him feel incredibly useless and weak. Derek had of course tried to convince Stiles to stay at the loft, oh _how_ he had tried to stop Stiles from following him and Scott to the hospital but Stiles ignoring him, she simply refused to hear him out and the moment he’d tried to bodily force her back into the loft she screamed bloody murder. ****

And his distress over the situation amused the bitch who’d come between him and the one person Derek had dared to trust outside of family since Kate Argent burned his family and home to the ground. The Darach kept going back and forth between trying to convince him it wasn’t evil, that it didn’t want to hurt him or Cora or even Stiles, and at the same time it would remind him of the danger his child was in; she wasn’t threatening the life of Derek’s son or daughter, but she kept reminding him about what Stiles was planning to do but Derek didn’t or simply couldn’t believe Stiles would abort their baby.

 

Derek was almost thankful when they drive was over and done with he’d been getting closer and closer to slashing the slender throat of the woman that had charmed him, enchanted him. But the moment he saw Stiles with her baseball bat he found it hard not to force Stiles back into her Jeep, but no matter how much he pleads for her to just go home and wait she ignores him and moves to stand behind Scott refusing to so much as accept his presence.

 

`Oh she really hates you.´ the Darach said with and air of satisfaction and bemusement.

 

Derek finds it difficult to be so close to Stiles and not just touch her but every move he makes towards Stiles has her hiding behind Scott, and now and again she would stop ignoring him long enough to glare at him. His hands ache to rest against the shelter that holds his child, but for now he needs to keep his hands to himself; he knows he should have kept his hands to himself perhaps then this mistake he’d made with the Darach would never have happened.

 

Standing in the lift, in the small space where there wasn’t a proper emergency exit was pure torture for the wolf that had already been on edge. Stiles and the child within her were trapped in a small space with an abomination of a woman who had killed people, even one of Stiles childhood friends.

 

There was a desire within him to just rip the throat out of the Darach, kill it now before it could harm either Stiles or the baby. But the knowledge of how much he and Stiles needed the Darach alive for now kept Derek from slaying the bitch.  

 

Derek takes a moment to glance at Stiles hoping seeing her there alive and well would help settle the wolf within him.There had been many times when Derek had been close to losing control of his wolf but Stiles’ presence had anchored him down, calmed the raging beast within him by just being there; the first time Derek had realized the power Stiles held was on the night he killed his uncle and became the Alpha of Beacon Hills, the moment the power of the Alpha surged through his veins and the need to build a pack exploded within him Derek had been prepared to force the bite on the two remaining Argents and Stiles simply because he needed a pack; but then he heard Stiles breathe out his name all soft and the Alpha settled down, and dear heavens how terrifying it was to realize some human girl held such power over him back then.

 

Stiles was standing right there behind him in the lift that moved far too slowly for his liking, she held her bat tightly and her eyes dark and hard as she glares at the back of the Darach’s head,there was an unfamiliar hardness to her face that made her appear years older that what she truly was.

 

Derek tilts his head and listens to the heartbeats of mother and child. Stiles’ heartbeat had always been quick like that of a rabbit he’d grown fond of the sound somewhere between hiding in her room and her fighting to keep his body from sinking to the bottom of a pool of water, but at that moment as they stood there in the lift the heartbeat of Stiles Stilinski was twice if not three times as rapid as it usually was and even the littlest of heartbeats he’d ever heard was now quicker than what it had been at the loft.

 

`Stiles you need to _calm_ down,´ Derek said without thinking, breaking the thick and heavy silence that had fallen between them, at first Stiles gave him a startled and confused look but then she glared at him murderously, `for the sake of the baby you need to calm down. It’s not good…´ but before he could finish explaining why Stiles needed to calm down she turned to Scott and said with a voice that was unnecessary loud and icy cold, `Scotty mind calling Ghostbusters or the Ghostfacers, Hell even the Ghost Adventures because I swear I heard a ghost trying to talk to me.´

 

`Stiles.´ Derek sighed, ready to try and reason with the mother of his child and half-expecting Scott to side with him, to help him convince Stiles to leave but instead Scott just glared at him and snarled, `Leave her alone. Haven’t you done enough damage already Derek? ´ And wasn’t that just twisting the knife in his heart.

 

`No point in trying to save that bun Derek,´ the Darach said her voice mockingly sympathetic, `Did you forget that she’s getting rid of it.´ Derek couldn’t stop the way he snapped his sharp teeth at the she-devil he’d allowed to sneak into his heart and bed.

 

`Don’t get mad at me,´ the bitch said, before smirking out, `I’m not the one going to kill your baby Derek. I’m not the one hurting you. I never wanted to hurt you Derek.´

 

There’s a blink of an eye, a second, a fleeting moment that something inside of Derek that wants to believe the Darach but the wolf in him roars in protest, and he snarls in her face, `Shut up.´

 

**~*~**

 

There was a change in the air, Peter had sensed it and felt it for a while now tugging at the pack bond but his assumption that it was due to the return of his niece Cora was proven false when merged twins threw him like a ragdoll to the ground at his nephews feet, he knows his belief that Cora was this change that gave him hope for the better future wrong when he hears the sound of a fresh new creation the sound of that young heart, tiny and yet so loud and strong, accompanied by the scent of his nephew tells Peter that young Stiles Stilinski was carrying the fruit of his nephews seed; and the way Stiles scent had changed told Peter that Stiles body was readying itself to nurture the little life. Peter can also tell by the scent that was now latched onto Stiles own personal smell was that she would succeed in carrying the child to full-term and by that little hint of something more animalistic than human he knows that the life growing inside of the Sheriff’s daughter would be a werewolf.

 

Stiles was replenishing their stock well and Peter felt incredibly proud of her, as well as his nephew who hadn’t done anything worthy in years.  

 

Peter is so enthralled by the realization that the girl he’d offered the bite too was in a blessed state, carrying a life that would carry the name of Hale, the child would be the beginning of many more. Peter is so taken by the blessed sound of the young Hale that he nearly misses what the young mother with the ridiculously pale skin and gentle hands was asking off of him.

 

There’s an unpleasant twist in Peter’s stomach when Stiles rushes over towards where his niece lays unmoving, her path brings her dangerously close to the merged twins, and his hackles rise the moment the monstrosity the twin Alpha’s create turns it’s gaze at the pregnant female. But then again his nephew found a new ferocity within him from the way the twins looked at the vessel carrying Derek’s offspring, Peter had never before seen Derek turn so vicious and almost feral in his movements before and it was rather impressive even if Derek had never and would never be as skilled in battle as Peter was; he almost felt a new found sense of respect towards the younger wolf, but only almost because Derek had brought Stiles into this dangerous situation and that was no alright.

 

Peter feels an ever growing _need_ to protect the child and mother as much as he needs to save his niece, but Stiles doesn’t make protecting her or the life inside her easy for she does not listen to him or anyone else which is proven the moment she backtracks while they are being chased by the abomination of two wolves and strikes it over the head with her bat which shatters into nothing more than splintered wood. Peter feels he shouldn’t have to carry the burden of protecting Stiles and child because Derek should have kept her safe and away from battle. As the oldest living Hale it will be Peter’s duty to prepare the young mother to what will come with carrying a wolf-cub as well as raising one, he will need to focus on her nutritional needs as soon as Cora is safe and well; fresh meat is a must if they want a healthy strong cub.

 

Peter can’t trust Derek to care for Stiles the proper way, or to keep her alive long enough to give birth to the new Hale.However Peter had not imagined he might need to protect the child from its own mother not until they reached the operating theater, it was not until Stiles had her little freak out over the escape of the woman his nephew had been sleeping with that the terrible prospect of having to perhaps take complete charge of Stiles’ life in order to protect the child came to mind.

 

The child will live it has too for the sake of his family the child must be born.

 

**~*~**

 

They’d lost her, they’d lost the Darach. They’d lost the one person that could bring her father back. And if Stiles does voice this fact out unnecessarily loud she doesn’t care because they lost the key to her father’s safe return. Stiles can’t help the way she starts to panic at the thought of losing her father, the only family she had left and she does not appreciate the way Derek dares to tell her to be quiet and to calm down or the way he tells her he will take care of her no matter what happens; he has no right to even talk to her, and none what so ever rights to make promises when he can’t keep a single one; he’d promised her he loved her and Stiles knew what you did and didn’t do when you truly loved someone and fucking another person while in pain or dying wasn’t something you did, he’d promised to keep her and her father safe, she could never trust him again.

 

`Me be quiet?´ she as good as shrieks, rounding on him like she was ready to punch his lights out and if he’d been just human she could have done that because she knew how to throw a mean left hook, `Are you seriously telling me what to do now Derek when your psychotic mass-murdering girlfriend – the second one you’ve dated, by the way -  has got my dad somewhere, tied up, waiting to be ritually sacrificed?´ She wants to tear his eyes right out of his head because Derek looks suddenly almost shocked and hurt by what she’d said, he has no right to feel hurt - none.

 

`And you think I’m going to trust you? After what you’ve done? Are you freaking kidding me? ´ Scott’s right there trying to calm her down but she’s far too angry to give into his soothing words and advice, she’s about to lose her dad because of Derek and his inability not to fuck crazy women, and that thought has her bitterly laughing, `Thank God I’m getting rid of it because clearly you only fuck crazy people so I must be nuts as well.´

 

`Stiles!´ Scott snaps and pulls her away from Derek, she’d been only inches from him, `That’s enough.´ she hears her name be called out with an air of shock and disbelief from Peter but then again it might just be her imagination.

 

`I can’t lose my dad Scott.´ Stiles said before she broke down crying in the arms of her best friend and brother, `I just can’t.´ Scott holds her tightly and makes no promises he can’t keep, and she appreciates it because she’s had to many broken promises in her life already.

 

`Stiles, please, ´ Derek’s voice was shaky and pleading, and she could feel him coming towards her, but she couldn’t deal with Derek anymore, and so she grasped on to Scott tighter and cried into his shoulder, `Please, Scott, please.´ And like the good friend Scott was he knew what she was asking from him and so he moved her further away from Derek and told the Alpha to just leave her alone.

 

`Seriously Derek just leave her alone.´ Scott snarled as Derek continued towards them, asking for Stiles to just listen, but before Scott could do much else a familiar voice called out, `Oh Derek save your words for someone who cares. That baby is as good as dead already so just focus on your sister and maybe the Sheriff.´ Stiles felt her stomach sink to the ground because there was just something about the way the Darach said maybe that was like a death-sentence, she couldn’t lose her dad not after everything; not before she could tell him she loved him, not before she could tell him she’s sorry for being such a fuck-up.

 

Stiles needed her dad.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made absolutly no sense did it? Don't asnwer, I'll just crawl into my bed and sleep as long as possible.


	3. Time and Time Again I Let You Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles seeks comfort from the one place she had always found it in. But as she settled within the room, wrapping herself in the familiar scent she felt no comfort, she felt no hope. And while Derek had promised to seek and find her father he had suddenly stopped the promised chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Darach has escaped, and time is running out. And I’m sorry that it’s a short little chapter.

 

What might have once been a room within which she had sought comfort when thunder and lightning brought fear into her heart or when her far too vivid imagination frightened her into tears **** was now nothing more than a hollow shell of a room where her parents had slept, **** the warmth of her mother’s touch and taste was no longer within the room after her mother’s death her father had packed all of her mother’s trinkets and belongings **** in boxes and tucked away in the basement. The room was rather plain and dull now its only function was for sleeping and getting change into clean clothes, and yet it was the only room Stiles found some comfort in while her heart ached with fear and tears flowed freely and unfought from her eyes. Stiles had returned home alone feeling exhausted and worn down, she changed out of her own shirt and pulled on one of her dad’s shirts before crawling into his bed and crying into one of his pillows; she sobbed out the hurt and fears into the pillow that smelled so strongly of her missing father.

 

Stiles didn’t know what she would do if she lost her dad too. She was terrified of losing him, because without her father around she _would_ be alone and she wasn’t prepared to be completely alone in a world that had always been so very hostile and unfair towards her. 

 

_ `I’ll find him Stiles. I promise. I promise you, I **will** find him.´ _ Derek’s voice mocked her still even after all the hours that had passed the promise he had made still haunted her, he’d seemed almost desperate to make her believe in him; but Stiles hadn’t and didn’t believed him or in him and neverwould, and so as soon as they took their separate paths she’d called Deaton. 

 

Plan A was in effect regardless of Derek’s weak promises. 

 

Stiles burrowed deeper within the layers of covers and pillows, trying so very hard to ignore are the little voice inside her head some of which were Derek’s and most of which were telling her that her father would be die before the sun came up.

 

Breathing in the comforting scent that had been there even after her mother’s faded away Stiles couldn’t help feeling incredibly small and helpless.The house felt far too big and cold around her and outside the four walls was world that had become so very unsafe for her;and if Stiles had ever thought herself old and strong enough not to need her father’s guidance and protection, Stiles was now in the solitude of a silent house made painfully aware of her foolish notions. 

 

And as she lay there in her father’s bed, crying into the pillow she squeezed so very tightly against her chest, the exhaustion slowly began to drag her down into a restless sleep where dreams of disaster and death reined cruel and free causing her to wake-up later screaming with despair.

 

And that her father did not race to her side, to wrap her up in his strong and comforting arms was a cruel reminder that her nightmare could still come true. 

 

** ~*~ **

 

Derek felt like pulling his hair off of his head. Returning to the loft that had become a place full of unpleasant memories,but if returning to the loft could save his sisters life then so be it. **** Peter swore he had found a way to save Cora’s life, according to his uncle any doubt or delay on Derek’s part could cost them Cora and regardless of how little trust the Alpha had towards his uncle, Derek knew in his heart of hearts Peter would not risk Cora’s life. **** And for as much as Derek had tried to find the Sheriff and keep his promise to Stiles he owed Cora to at least try and save her; **** he owed Peter and Cora enough to forsake the hunt for Sheriff Stilinski. ****

 

Derek understood the possible price of abandoning the search and he could only hope and pray that the price wouldn’t be too high. **** If the Sheriff died because of him, because of the choice he had made, all Derek could do was hope Stiles could find it in her heart to forgive him.

 

Derek kneels down beside his sister, his wolf torn between staying there and finding the missing Sheriff. Derek can’t keep his voice steady no matter how hard he tries to keep his nerves under lock and key, his voice shakes with all the fears that were trapped within his body, `If this doesn’t go well…´ Derek places his trembling hands down on the unpleasantly cold skin of his younger sisters arm, the Alpha of the Hale pack can feel how frightfully close his sister was to death, `you’ll continue looking for the Sheriff, right? ´ 

 

His uncle Peter gives him a short but confirming nod before moving to stand behind Derek it should unnerve Derek, but he trusts that his uncle wouldn’t try and slay him when Cora needed him; he had to trust Peter wouldn’t risk access to Stiles and their baby by killing him.

 

Derek holds Cora’s arm firmly with his own two hands, he holds the arm hard enough to bruise the now unpleasantly pale skin that is if Cora had been born human which she had not; it had taken Derek awhile before he had learned the amount of pressure needed to bruise a human being, or more precisely what it took to bruise Stiles pale but warm skin.

 

Derek focuses his energy and thoughts on his sister and nothing else. He had to ignore Stiles needs at least for now. 

 

The wolf focuses on healing its dying sibling causing Derek to lose all sense of time. Derek barely feels the hand of his uncle settle on his shoulder as something unpleasant floods his body. 

 

The pain he feels seeping into his own body is unlike any he has felt before, and the sensation is so intense that he can barely hear the words his uncle speaks, the promise Peter makes. 

 

` I promise you, I will protect her and the baby Derek.´ 

 

A part within Derek tells him to stop, to just stop. But he can’t and so Derek risks his own life without much thought. And as the roar erupts the wolf within him thinks as its heart skips one beat after another that at least it departs the world leaving behind a part of it; there was no real death as long as its cub lived on. He would live on through his cub. 

Derek's last thought before everything went dark around him was all about Stiles Stilinski, he thought about her smile and her voice, and he felt so very afraid because this might be the day he died and he was doing it without Stiles knowing how much he loved her, how much he wished he'd treated her better. And he regretted perhaps never seeing his child grow into the wonderful kid it would grow into because of Stiles. And Derek wished with every piece of his heart and soul he would wake-up, he wished death away so he could begin to heal the rift Jennifer had caused with her dark and cruel magic; she had blinded him and his heart, twisted his love for Stiles too server her own needs.

_ `It was so easy to catch you once I figured out your hearts desire,´ the bitch laughed as him before he'd lost consciousness in the cold space of the lift, lights flickering around him, `Just a little spell and you were mine. All mine. But now the fun is over and you will have nothing Derek Hale. Nothing.´ Derek tried to protest, tried to voice his faith in Stiles' ability to forgive and understand, but he couldn't and so he slipped into the peaceful darkness wishing for Stiles and his baby to be safe for Isaac and his uncle to care for her, for Scott to protect Stiles until death. He wished the Darach would spare Stiles unnecessary suffering.  _

 

 

 


	4. Hope is Lost, and Time is No More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time was running out. Derek had failed her yet again, not that she had expected anything less from the werewolf, not after everything. Stiles may have promised the Alpha not to do anything before talking to him, but as she sat there Stiles couldn’t help but feel like she didn’t owe Derek any consideration after everything that had happened because of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short little chapter my darlings.

 

Stiles Stilinski held the bent remnants of her father’s badge tightly in her hand. **** The badge had been worn by her father with an air of pride and devotion its meaning and worth had grown while the golden ring around his finger lost its shine. Stiles hoped this deformed symbol would give her the strength of heart and mind to go through what was being asked of her; but for the sake of her father she would do anything. **** She would squeeze the badge tightly every time her thoughts became too much to bare, every time her thoughts turned into hopelessness she held the badge a little tighterthe increase of pressure causing the edges to dig into her skin but without causing any real damage to Stiles hand; but even though she did not cause harm to herself the pain was still real and seemed to ground her just enough to stop the ever threatening panic attack from surfacing. ****

 

`Stiles? ´ Scott’s voice was soft and full of concern; she didn’t even need to look at him to know how worried he was about her.The only reason Scott was even driving her Jeep was because he was worried she might crash her Jeep because she wasn’t in any shape to drive,Stiles may have slept for a few hours and yet she felt like she hadn’t slept for days so driving really wasn’t an option for her. 

 

`Stiles? ´ Scott said reaching out to cover the hand clutching the badge tightly enough cause her pain and yet she could not let the item go.The contact was enough to snap her out of her less than positive thoughts, the dream from which she had woken screaming for her daddy still fresh and horrid in her mind. She turned her gaze away from the window and focused on the worried male driving her beloved Jeep painfully slowly down familiar roads. 

 

`You okay?´ the question was foolish, and if she’d been herself she might have responded in words lined into a jab or a sarcastic remark but until her father was safe she couldn’t find the strength needed to do so. And so Stiles simply gave a short nod before turning her gaze back out the window, watching familiar scenery pass in a blur of sorts while Scott continued to drive one hand on the wheel and the other covering her hand, squeezing it lightly. 

 

They stayed quiet throughout the rest of the drive. It wasn’t until they reached the animal clinic that the silence was broken.

 

`You know,´ Scott said while gingerly parking the Jeep next the only other vehicle parked in the small parking lot,`Stiles,´ his voice was ripe with anxiousness, `You don’t have to do this.´ 

 

Unwilling to deal with anymore of Scott’s begging and pleading, she didn’t need to hear his disapproval any more than she had already done, and so she quickly slipped out of her Jeep without giving Scott a single word; it seemed she could do nothing but cause those around her disappointment and she was growing incredibly tiered of it.

 

Feeling the cool air against her skin, and separated from a very disapproving Scott McCall Stiles pulled out her phone even though she had no real expectations of she might find,and yet finding not a single word from Derek made her heart sink to the ground, her eyes began to sting with tears of anger and frustration. Perhaps she had still dared to hope that Derek wouldn’t continue to fail her.

 

`Stiles? ´ Stiles hurriedly dried away the single tear that had dared to escape her. 

 

`I’m fine.´ Stiles said surprising herself by how weak her voice was and a sense of disappointment washed over her, there was nothing new about that particular negative feeling considering how the moment Stiles had caught on to Derek unfaithful nature a nasty little voice inside her head started to belittle her at every turn; and when the unwanted pregnancy made itself known the voice grew absolutely vicious, and so having Scott all disappointed and disapproving did nothing but make Stiles feel even worse about herself. ****

 

Stiles may have told Scott she was fine but the truth was nowhere to be found in that short worded statement, for Stiles was anything but fine and she wouldn’t be anywhere near fine until she had her dad back. And surely even after her father was returned to her Stiles might still remain shattered never to be fine again,because she would still need to deal with the thing growing inside her and a thing that would sure give her father a new right to be displeased with her. Stiles could not see her father be anything but disappointed by the poor choices she had made because of the foolish notion that Derek Hale could ever love her.

 

Stiles had admittedly made a stupid mistake by believing that Derek loved her the same way her own parents had loved each other. 

 

`Stiles, you don’t need to do this, ´ Scott said grabbing her by the arm the moment she made a move towards the clinic.

 

Stiles reaction was immediate. Like a rabid dog she rounded in on her true friend, eager to free some of her rage in the form of words that fell loud and unforgiving. 

 

`I don’t need to do this?! I don’t need to? Really? So, I should just sit on my ass and wait for my dad to die, like I did with my mom?´ Stiles really just wanted to hit the shocked and hurt look right off of Scott’s face, but she was still holding her father’s badge in one hand and in the other her phone so punching Scott would only hurt her further, and a broken hand was something she was not willing to deal with at the moment, **** `Well, guess what Scott, I can’t do that. I fucking can’t just sit and wait for some _miracle_ ,´ the loathing behind the word miracle was enough to tell Scott his best friend had lost all het faith in a higher power and for someone like Scott that was like a slap in the face, ` a _miracle_ that will _never_ happen!´ ****

 

Stiles glared at Scott with traitorous tears escaping her and with a voice full of anger she continued to yell at her silent friend, `because guess what Scott, there are no such thing as miracles! And guess what Scott if there even is a God then he sucks! Or he just doesn’t give a fuck about me or my dad.´

 

Stiles entire body shook with anger that wasn’t given the freedom it desired, but as she spoke her voice began to break just a little because fear and grief was slowly encroaching on the anger that kept her standing, `My dad _is_ going to _die_ Scott, he is going to die. My dad will die if I don’t do this.´

 

`He will die, ´ Stiles cried her anger lost now, replaced undesired grief and fear, ` and I will be all alone.´

 

`Y-you won’t be alone.´ Scott said voice barely above a whisper, he looked now far more hurt than anything else, `you’ll have me and my mom and…´ 

 

`I don’t care Scott!´ Stiles screamed like she had suddenly lost the last shreds of her sanity, before breaking down into uncontrollable sobs because she was growing more and more convinced she would never see her father alive again.

 

`I just want my dad back.´ Stiles cried barely able to stand, `I want him back Scott. I want my daddy back.´ her voice came out more pleading than anything else and when her best friend, her only true friend and brother from another mother and father, wrapped his arms around her. 

 

Feeling the comforting warmth of the person who had spent many nights holding her as she cried tears of sorrow born from the loss and memories of her dearly departed mother, and the hurt and grief Derek had caused her took hold of her, Stiles broke down crying trusting Scott to keep her from collapsing to the damp ground. 

 

Scott held her with a familiarity, silent as he knew not to speak when she cried in this almost hysterical fashion she displayed outside the animal clinic where he worked and sought guidance from Alan Deaton. Scott held her until Stiles’ tears finally ran dry, until she was all cried-out for the night, until she found the strength to stand on her own. 

 

Pulling away Stiles gazed into those familiar brown eyes of Scott McCall and there was something there she hadn’t seen before, something that made her feel an icy-chill run through her body, for during her crying she had not noticed the sudden rigidness of the one person she could call her brother. 

 

`What’s wrong? ´ Stiles asked voice raw after all the screaming and crying, and she winched at the sound of her own voice and the sharp pain in her throat. 

 

`Let’s get going.´ the werewolf said guiding Stiles into the familiar building, a sign that something was well and truly wrong.

 

`What’s wrong?´ Stiles asked once more, leaning into the familiar body, soaking in as much of Scott’s warmth as possible. 

 

`Derek.´ was all Scott said, and Stiles wasn’t sure she wanted to know more considering nothing good ever came from Derek Hale and the look Scott gave her told Stiles how surprised he was about her silence on the matter, but blessedly Scott left her silence be. 

 

Together they entered the clinic with slow nervous steps. Scott locked the door behind them and in a nervous silence they placed their phones and watches on the counter, they placed anything that could be ruined by what was to come. 

 

`Stiles.´ Scott whispered taking her free hand into his hand squeezing it tightly before Stiles could push the door open into the next room, `You don’t need to do this.´ Stiles didn’t even bother to respond in any other way than to pull her hand free and glare at him, it was enough to cause Scott to halt any attempts at changing her mind.

 

With slumped shoulders and a little whimper the True Alpha followed Stiles Stilinski into the next room where the baths lay waiting ice-cold and necessary. There was an unpleasant chill to the room, causing Stiles shivered almost immediately after entering. **** A silence washed over the room the moment they entered, the whispers of disapproval from Lydia Martin and Allison Argent did not go amiss though and Scott gave his own glare towards the two other females in the room. Isaac who had been standing near the baths looked angry and pained, shooting his own glare but unlike Scott’s it was directed towards Stiles alone; Stiles knew enough to understand that even after Isaac had been banished by Derek, which was in Stiles’ great opinion was just another mistake on Derek’s part, there was still some shape of loyalty there one which made Isaac’s wolf displeased with Stiles decision after all Stiles was going to risk the life of something that was as good as pack to the young beta. And Stiles had no delusions that Scott’s unhappiness of the situation was another reason for Isaac’s less than friendly reaction to her arrival. 

 

`It’s time.´ Deaton said shortly as he moved closer towards the icy baths, dropping a mixture of herbs into the cold water. And the tension grew within the cold room. 

 


	5. Refusal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was beautiful to him. Most wonderful beauty he had ever seen, even if this was nothing but a dream, figment of his mind, she was still the most wonderful lady he had ever held in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short little chapter my darlings, hopefully it’s not too bad. Oh! A few explanations before we continue, the ice-cream thing is something my friend thinks because she HATES the cold, and is now very unhappy as autumn has arrived and the weather is turning against her. And Stiles’ opinion about her appearance is not mine, I think Stiles (fem or male) is beautiful with her moles and so on, so don’t kill me.

 

He couldn’t help but marvel at the paleness of her skin, so fine and smooth baring a delicate scattering of delectable moles. **** There was not a single part of Stiles’ appearance Derek did not admire or love. **** The shape of her lips that were never tainted by sticky lip-gloss or lipstick was enough to occupy his mind with secret little thoughts that would make anyone blush fiercely, **** and those flawless lips held a smile reserved for him and him alone; it was the sweetest, most seductive, most innocent of smiles Derek Hale had ever been blessed with, it was a smile that he treasured the most. **** And he loved Stiles’ eyes that were not a dull brown color like so many others he had seen in his life were, those orbs that were now gazing at him lovingly were edging along the shades of gold and amber more than any shade of brown he knew, it had been those doe-like eyes that had drawn him in like a moth to aflame long before she had proven her worth to him; it was those golden eyes that had convince Derek more than anything else that Stiles Stilinski would _never_ burn his life down into ashes like Kate had. 

 

Derek could never fathom how no other male or female in Beacon Hills had found themselves enthralled, spellbound, by Stiles Stilinski and he had taken great offense when Peter had suggested in the beginning of their interaction with the human girl that Stiles was rather plain looking for there was nothing plain about Stiles Stilinksi;the upturn of her nose seemed to prove as much as did her delicate hands which had more than once held him in an iron-like-grip. 

 

Stiles may appear delicate and weak but her fierceness gave her strengths beyond even his understanding. 

 

`I love you.´ Derek whispered before leaning in to kiss those soft lips of the girl who had enchanted him from the very second their eyes had locked. **** Derek had fought against the wants and desires the teenage girl had awakened within him, had tried so hard to leave her be but how could he not love and want someone like Stiles? And when Stiles held him from drowning, when she made it clear to him she did not see him as an abomination unlike Scott had done back in the beginning, he could no longer deny how much he wanted Stiles at his side.

 

His fingers wandered up into her hair settling in to comb through the knots that had formed in her soft brown hair.The golden light whispering through the window brought out the few golden strands that hid amongst walnut browns and dark-chocolate brown ones; like everything else about Stiles even her hair seemed to hold secrets only he was allowed to see. 

 

`I love you.´ he repeated before leaning down to kiss her softly.

 

**_ Derek. _ **

 

`Yes Stiles.´ Derek gazed into the warm eyes, a smile rising upon his lips. Derek was well prepared to do and give the fine lady in his bed anything her heart desired.

 

**_ Derek. _ **

 

He could feel his eyes widen as he realized it wasn’t Stiles calling his name but someone else. And his heart began to race as he reached down to take the hand he wished he could one day slip a ring on, a ring Stiles would wear even after death; he wanted her to slip a similar piece of gold on his own finger and Derek would wear it with the same loyalty with which Sheriff Stilinski wore his. 

 

**_ Derek. _ **

 

His heart began to beat loudly, but even in his frazzled state he could tell his heart was beating far too slowly to be normal. His heartbeat didn’t mirror the anxiousness he felt as he tore his eyes away from the smiling face of the girl who had proven her worth to him hundreds of times while he had surely not done anything to convince Stiles that he was the one and only for her.Derek gazed down at the delicate fingers that always found their way to him and how he loved the way those fingers felt as the skimmed across any part of him or when the held on to him for dear life,Derek adored Stiles’ hands and the weightlessness they seemed to possess; her hands and fingers could easily drive a poet mad if they ever attempted to describe the beauty of them. 

 

**_ Derek. _ **

 

His heart was pounding too loudly and Derek could have sworn on the life of his unborn child’s life that he could hear his own blood rushing around inside his veins and around his body. His body was growing heavier and the feeling was severely unpleasant. He struggled to find the strength to count the fingers of the woman he loved.

 

**_ Derek. _ **

 

Where there should have been five fingers there were six and Derek’s heart dropped as he realized that this pleasant moment was nothing but a dream, and his mind was suddenly full of unpleasant memories; him breaking the only heart he never desired to hurt, the child he had created with the young woman his wolf howled for nonstop ever since the enchantment the Darach had him under had shattered, Derek recalled the threats Stiles had made towards their child which distressed him and his wolf even further. 

 

**_ Derek _ ** **. **

 

Gazing back at the young woman he loved Derek found himself face to face with a wolf with dark fur and glowing-red eyes, and the surroundings that had been wrapped in a warm golden light turned bleak and cold and the bed was replaced with a great tree-stump. 

 

The wolfs resemblance with his mother’s wolf-form was uncanny but there were also something different about this wolf, but he had no time to analyze because Derek needed to get back to Stiles and their baby; and with that thought his heartbeat picked-up and he began to feel his body grow more heavier and more spent, and the voice calling for him grew louder and more encouraging.

 

** ~*~ **

 

Stiles stared at the tub before her. This night might ruin baths for her forever.

 

Deaton was talking again, no doubt repeating the same information which in Stiles opinion was lacking in various parts any real information.Stiles stared at the bits of ice floating around in the tub and shivered from the knowledge she would be slipping into that cold water in a moment, and she hated the cold at the best of times the only time cold was good was when it came in the form of ice cream. 

 

Stiles couldn’t stand the feeling cold and that was one of the many reasons she preferred wearing layers upon layers of clothing instead of dressing-up all pretty like Lydia and Allison did, and it was also why she had loved to cuddle-up against Derek. 

 

The thought of Derek and all the times she had laid with him, her body close to his and willing to be moved around until Derek gave a pleased rumble that seemed to spring forth from his heart, broke what little was left of her broken heart. Compared to Derek she was petit and fragile, and yet she had never feared him not even at the beginning when he kept threatening to rip her throat out with his teeth, she had firmly believed that Derek would never harm her.Stiles had trusted Derek as deeply as she did Scott; she had believed that Derek would keep her safe, never imagining he would be the one to break her. ****

 

_ How wrong can a person be _ , Stiles thought bitterly, chewing hard on her lower lip wishing the pain she was causing her already chewed-up lip would halt the tears that were trying to escape her. 

 

Stiles knew she shouldn’t have believed someone that looked like Derek Hale, who looked like a freaking Greek God could ever truly love someone like her. She should have known someone like him couldn’t really love some stupid teenage girl with eyes far too big for her face and a nose that looked ridiculous even without the wide nostrils, and not to mention her disgusting moles which looked against her stupid pale-skin like drops of mud or shit. 

 

_ `Take a shower Stiles, ´ Jackson’s said while standing between her and the pool stopping her from joining the other kids.  _

 

_ `W-why?´ Stiles asked because she was clean, she knew she was clean, she had her bath last-night and her mama washed her hair with the strawberry scented shampoo Stiles loved so much even if it didn’t do much to fight off the knots that always appeared in her hair. Stiles was clean, she hadn’t fallen even once that day, and she’d washed her hands after going to the bathroom.  _

 

_ She couldn’t be dirty. _

 

_ ` _ _ Because, ´ Jackson scrunching up his nose like he was smelling something disgusting, `You’ve got dirt on your skin.´ _

 

_ Immediately Stiles tried to see where the dirt was, but couldn’t find it. Her pretty new swimsuit which had been bought especially for this day in mind was clean and perfect, her knees weren’t dirty and neither were her hands or arms.  _

 

_ As if reading her thoughts Jackson started pointing at her arms, cheek, neck and soon Stiles realized what was dirty on her it was the dark little dots on her pale skin, those dark little dots were the problem, she stared-up at Jackson wide eyed and she was about to explain to him her special little dots weren’t dirt when another boy suddenly said, `You’ve got shit on your skin.´ Stiles gasped at that because the boy who was Lydia Martins cousin had used a bad word, he had used a bad word to describing her dots.  _

 

_ `Yeah, Stiles you can’t get in the pool because you’ve got shit on you.´ Jackson laughed and then someone started sing-song the following words that truly brought her to tears, `Don’t touch shitty-shitty little Stiles, or you’ll get icky-sicky.´  _

 

Stiles felt a familiar hand touch her hand, bringing her out of her unpleasant thoughts, a few stray tears dancing their way down her cheeks. Even back then when she had been little she’d been too ugly to be friends with the cool kids, so why would someone like Derek Hale love her? 

 

`Stiles?´ Scott looked almost like he was about to hug her and she almost wanted him too, but Stiles knew that if she allowed Scott to wrap his arms around she would be a sobbing mess and so she just pulled her hand out of his and dried her tears away.

 

`I’m fine.´ Stiles said knowing it was a stupid thing to say considering there were two werewolves in the room which were more than capable to hear her heart skip a beat.

 

`You, ´ Scott said all firm but gentle, stealing her hand back and squeezing it lightly, `You don’t need to do this. We can handle it.´ Scot glanced over at Allison who gave a short nod, she looked as determined as Stiles was but there was also a hint of fear there which perhaps all three of them shared that night.

 

`Think of the…´

 

`Stop it Scott.´ Stiles snapped before the baby was brought up once more by Scott who seemed unwilling or unable to accept that she didn’t give a flying fuck about the thing growing inside her, it was a mistake and a mistake she had been planning to remove from her body long before her father was taken; the thing inside her was destined to die the moment Stiles had found out she was pregnant, she wasn’t willing or ready to become a mother or give-up her dreams for a thing she didn’t even love. 

 

`I’m doing this. So shut-up and let’s get this show on the road.´ Stiles was aware how harsh and cruel she sounded, but she was so done with having to listen to Scott talk about how the baby was a gift and how he would help her and support her and be the best uncle he could be for the baby; and she knew he would try and support her, help her, and be there for her if she did give-up her own wants and desires, but in the end he would have to live his own life which didn’t involve her and some mistake she had made with Derek Hale. 

 

She couldn’t rely on Scott to be there for her, she couldn’t chain him down with her mistake. And Stiles didn’t want to be tied down with her mistake either. 

 

** ~*~ **

 

Finding out that he’d survived the ordeal of saving his sisters life should have brought Derek some sense of joy, but all Derek felt while his eyes focused on the familiar face of his little sister was disappointment.The disappointment was deep, for the only person he wished to see at the hour of his awakening was Stiles Stilinski.He had even half-expected to find Stiles there before him as she had been so many times before when his body betrayed him, of course he understood why she wasn’t there but it did not diminish the sense of sadness that swelled-up in his heart.

 

`Here, drink this.´ Cora said while guiding the bottle of water to his lips, one of her hands cradled the back of his head fingers gently rubbing his scalp the same way their mother had done when trying to comfort them, and yet this tender side of Cora was nothing compared to that of Stiles’. 

 

`We thought we lost you.´ Peter said somewhere from Derek’s left but he was too drained to waste his energy on trying to pinpoint the exact location of his uncle, or to try and decipher the strangeness behind the tone of voice the older werewolf used. 

 

`Stiles.´ Derek croaked winching at the soreness of his throat.

 

`Don’t worry about her.´ Cora said while urging him to drink some more, but Derek turned his head away and began to try and push himself off of the floor, his need to see the mother of his child driving him forward. 

 

`Derek. No.´ Cora grabbed him tightly by the arm, `You need to rest.´ 

 

Derek tried to shake his head but he wasn’t sure how much he managed to do it, and as he spoke once more, trying to make his sister understand that what he needed wasn’t rest but Stiles, `I need her. I need Stiles.´ and he did, he really did need her. 

 

`Why?´ Cora asked, almost stumbling when he pushed at her to let him go so he could make his way towards the exit and not the bed towards which his sister was trying to force him towards. 

 

`Need her.´ is all he can say because it’s the truth, because he feels unsafe without her, he loves his sister but he doesn’t really know her and he can’t trust Peter; but Stiles, Stiles he trusts more than anyone else, she’s never done anything to hurt him or betrayed him. 

 

Stiles _is_ safety.

 

`You need her? ´ Cora snorted, her hold tightened around his arm, pulling him towards the direction of the very bed on which he had spent hours on with Stiles. At first it had been just cuddling, and light kisses, and then slowly it had changed into something more passionate; their scents had mixed into something glorious and delicious, and it had soaked into bed. But unfortunately Derek had ruined it, ruined the pleasurable scent of the bed with the mistake that was Jennifer Blake. 

 

_ I need to burn that bed,  _ Derek thought feeling disgusted with the knowledge he had tainted the bed by his own actions. 

 

`She’s nothing but a human?´ those words caused Derek to snarl at his sister and pull his arm free which caused him to nearly drop back down on the floor.

 

`She’s not just _some_ human Cora.´ Derek snapped, becoming just slightly more steadier at his feet as Peter came to support him, `I _trust_ her.´ Cora stared at him all wide-eyed, `I _love_ her.´ 

 

`You love her? ´ Cora snorted and yes there was even an eye-roll there, and wasn’t that just a bit insulting. 

 

`Don’t forget, ´ Peter says with a smirk of sorts, `she’s also the mother of your child Derek.´

 

Cora gives a sound that was similar to the one a rat once made when Derek had stepped on it when he was about ten years old. 

 

Cora’s eyes were wide and she looked absolutely shocked and even a little bit horrified by the news which really wasn’t alright. Sure, Derek had suspected that Cora didn’t like Stiles the girl was after all a required taste. 

 

`No. Derek. Just no.´ Cora’s words had him growling and he really wanted to beat her into accepting the brilliance which was Stiles Stilinski. 

 

`Yes.´ Peter said sounding almost like he was ready to defend Derek and Stiles and their baby. 

 

`WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?´ Cora screamed claws out and eyes glowing yellow.

 

 

 


	6. You make me scream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> `How could you do that to her? ´ the question was unpleasantly loud, causing his ears to ring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay here’s another chapter, and this time for all you lovelies, sorry for the long wait but I ended up screwing up a simple cold because of my shitty immune system. To those who are waiting for Stiles and Derek interaction I’m sorry to say it won’t happen in this chapter because I’m too exhausted at the moment to awake or sitting up long enough to write it into this chapter, sorry. And now people are leaving aren’t they? Oh and do not hate on Cora, she’s just upset okay.

 

`How could you!?´ Cora’s question escaped her with an unpleasant loudness that caused Derek’s ears to ring just enough to cause him a splitting headache, the pain within his cranium had the werewolf fearing that his skull might shatter at any second; and of course such a suffering did nothing to improve Derek’s unhappiness, if anything it seemed to increase his anger towards his younger sister. 

 

`What’s wrong with you?!´ Cora screamed which made Derek remember why he and Laura had as kids attempted more than once to ship their little sister somewhere faraway like Madagascar. 

 

Cora’s face gave away how different they truly were compared to your average Jack and Jill, there was no denying what they truly were and what his child might be. Still, regardless of what his son or daughter were born as Derek was certain of one thing, it would be his duty to provide and protect Stiles and their child; it was his duty as Stiles mate to care for her even if she might refuse him for the time being. 

 

_ And children, lots and lots of them,  _ a voice that was significantly less than human whispered at the back of Derek’s mind, and yes that idea was one which brought him a sense of joy for there was something undeniably perfect about the idea of having a large family with Stiles even if his little sister didn’t agree with his choice in mate: Derek could continue living without his little sister, he’d done it before and for the safety of his child and Stiles he was willing to do it again. 

 

`Stiles!´ Cora’s voice rose another octave or two, eyes glowing while glaring at her older brother, and Derek was reasonably fearful that his sisters wrath would reach Stiles who regardless of her cleverness and brilliance in sarcasm would be no match against an enraged werewolf. 

 

`Cora.´ both Derek and Peter growled at the she-wolf who didn’t share their excitement and joy over the pregnancy, bot Derek and his uncle stood claws and fangs out giving fair warning to Cora of what would come if she so much as glared in the direction of the young mother to be. 

 

`How could you do that to her? ´ Cora’s voice dropped, the obnoxiously loudness gone and replaced by something more desperate and mournful, and it was just enough of a change to confuse both Derek and Peter. 

 

`She deserves better than _this_ Derek.´ Cora continued to glare at her only brother and her voice may have remained low but there was something exceptionally unpleasant about the tone of voice she used while speaking to him, it made Derek feel like he was something disgusting and worthless, `Stiles deserves something better than being sixteen and pregnant.´ 

 

Derek hadn’t expected to hear his sister speak in such away. The anger and loathing she was expressing was not directed at Stiles but _him._ It surprised him to say the least to learn that Cora seemed to genuinely care for Stiles. Derek had been under the firm belief that his little sister, who had never made friends easily, didn’t care much for Stiles Stilinski; considering how every time Cora had spoken about Stiles it had been to complain about everything the human did and said, but then again there had been a time when Derek had done the same. 

 

Glancing over at his uncle Derek found Peter appearing as perplexed by the notion that Cora didn’t hate Stiles as greatly as they had thought. 

 

`Stiles doesn’t deserve all of this crap.´Cora snarled while withdrawing her claws, `After everything you’ve put her through you just had to knock-her-up as well.´Cora’s fangs were drawn back but she looked none the less willing and capable of hurting him, and that wouldn’t be too great of a struggle considering how he was severely weakened after saving Cora’s life.

 

`You just couldn’t stop with shattering her heart now could you? No. You had to leave her heartbroken and pregnant, well done Derek.´ Cora sneered while giving him applauds that were slow and unkind, `well done Derek, well done.´

 

`Cora.´ Peter barked, rounding on his niece who looked no more frightened of him than what she would have been by a growling puppy, but then again she wouldn’t have been as easily angered by a snarling puppy as she was by her uncle. 

 

`Oh, so you think _this_ is a good thing?´ Cora hissed at Peter like a venomous snake, `Stiles pregnant with,´ she raised her hand and pointed at Derek like she wanted nothing more than to spear his heart with her finger, `his kid?´ it was enough to cause Derek to recoil slightly.

 

`If you think that Peter, then you _are_ even crazier than I thought.´ and there was the yelling again, and Derek wasn’t sure which was worse Cora yelling again or her being so firmly set against having a niece or nephew by him and Stiles. 

 

`Cora.´ Peter growled, but it seemed she didn’t care whom she angered or who was left feeling absolutely shredded by her rage, because she snapped at their uncle as furiously as she had done with her brother, `NO! I’m not going to shut-up, because this is wrong on so many levels.´ Derek flinched at the harshness of his sisters voice.

 

`He just keeps fucking-up people’s lives left and right!´ Derek was shocked by the deep hatred in his sisters voice but the more he thought about it the more he accepted it, he had after all caused their family to burn alive; she had every right to be disenchanted with him, much like Stiles was, but still having his own sister speaking to him and about him with such harshness was simply just a bit too much for Derek to handle when he wasn’t feeling like himself. 

 

`We all make mistakes! ´ Peter roared back at Cora who just laughed out, `Well you would know that better than anyone of us, right? ´

 

Derek grabbed his keys and slipped out of the loft, leaving Peter and Cora alone to rage and rant in peace. 

 

Even three floors down he could hear his sister and uncle go at each other’s throats and weak-spots. He can only hope that when he finally dared to return to his dingy loft that not everything within the space he called home was broken, years of living with werewolves had thought Derek there was always a few furniture’s and trinkets broken when two werewolves were out for blood. Derek tried to ignore the hurtful words he could hear his sister throw about him and his past mistakes, and so he decided to occupy his mind by checking on his phone only to find several missed calls and messages waiting for him. 

 

There are messages and missed calls from both Stiles and Scott. 

 

The larger portion of the messages held the question where was he, and demands for him to answer the damn phone, and it made something hopeful flare within Derek’s chest when he thought that Stiles might be worried about him; of course later he would realize she was just interested in knowing if he’d found any trace of where her father was being held. But for that brief moment he felt hopeful that not all hope was lost when it came to him and Stiles Stilinski. 

 

After the ordeal he had been through there was a great need within the Derek Hale to see Stiles who was as good as his mate, even before the baby that now grew inside her Stiles had become in the eyes of his wolf their mate; it was because of the wolf that Derek had eventually surrendered to the desires to hold the teen against and next to him, it was because of the wolf he was able to ignore the laws of man as easily as he had done, it was because of the wolf Derek Hale gave in to his desires to cover Stiles with his scent and body until she was his. 

 

Determined to see and if possible touch Stiles had Derek slipping into his car, a car which would do well for his growing family slipped into his car one which would do well and didn’t that thought just make something warm settle back in his chest.Derek began to realize as he settled within the car that he would need to begin the gathering of supplies for his little family, he needed to get his hands on a crib or rather cribs if he failed to convince Stiles to move in with him; he would need to buy everything in two’s unless Stiles gave in to his desire to make a home with him, but regardless if Stiles moved in with him Derek would pay any expenses the pregnancy and child would create. 

 

Derek sighed heavily as the unhappy thought about not living with the young mother and child took over his thoughts, he couldn’t bare the idea of not being around for his little baby when it cried in the early hours of the morning or needed a change. 

 

The second to last message from Scott had Derek nearly dropping his phone with shock as it told him how Alan Deaton had supposedly found an unreasonably dangerous way of saving the lives of their parents. Derek felt his entire body go cold as he continued to read the message telling him how Stiles had agreed to risk her own life as well as their unborn child’s life. 

 

_ I need to stop her. I need to make her see sense,  _ Derek thought before speeding towards the animal clinic while trying at the same time to reach Stiles, with each unanswered call both he and his wolf grew increasingly frantic and fearful. 

 

_ Please Stiles, don’t do anything stupid, please don’t. _

 

****

 

** **

 


	7. Cold, so cold.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unmoving and so cold, unfamiliar in silence and stillness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shortness again. Oh and I know the bathtub scene isn’t right, correct or playing out as it did in the show, but come one this is fan fiction so don’t kill me over it. Oh and sorry about the mean drunk in the chapter.

 

Scott had never experienced something as unpleasant as sinking into a bath of ice. There was no way for him to successfully describe the disturbing sensation that came from feeling icy water surround your body which grew weaker and weaker with every painfully passing second. **** And awakening from that horrific moment was no less of an unpleasant of a thing, if possible it was a far worse of an experience.

 

With his body desperate to escape the cold that had seeped into his very bones causing every movement to feel like a struggle, Scott McCall rose from and collapsed in an undoubtedly ungraceful heap on the floor. The werewolf found breathing to be another source of discomfort as the lunges beneath his cold skin and aching bones felt like they were being squeezed from within.

 

Deaton was right at Scott’s side almost as soon as the young werewolf was out of the water and on the floor, wrapping a blanket around his trembling form before helping him up on his feet, it was all very caring and Scott’s accepted all the aid his boss was willing to give him; although it did not entire remove the less than thrilled feelings the young Alpha had about the secrecy Deaton had shown when it came to the experience of sacrificing yourself, sure the former Emissary of the Hale pack had told them all about the darkness that would settle in their hearts but there had most definitely not been a single mention about the horrendous experience of going into a death-like state and coming out of it.

 

Scott wants to ask the man why there hadn’t been any warnings given about the stomach twisting, bone freezing, lunge squeezing horribleness that was the method Deaton had found to buy more time for their parents, but wanting and doing are two entirely different things; and it wasn’t like Deaton had told them it wouldn’t be unpleasant, and frankly Scott was too worn down to go into a battle of words with the man especially when he was most certain that battle suite Stiles far better than him, Stiles had after all always been the one to take-up arms faster than him. 

 

The knowledge that he at least has the benefits of supernatural recovery to aide his way back to normalcy while Allison and Stiles have none which is the simple yet defined difference between the two and him, and it is that difference that drives Scott’s focus away from his own discomfort and settle his attention towards his two companions. 

 

Allison was on her feet, body visibly shivering while wrapped-up like an adorable human burrito in one of the dull gray blankets. There is an unpleasant squeezing going on around his heart as he watches Allison lean into Isaac who was gently running his hands up and down her arms and back, there are worry lines on his brow. 

 

Am ever growing suspicion that had started to grow within him flared, it seemed more evident now that something was indeed slowly building between Isaac and Allison. 

 

However any thoughts of resentment, suspicion, jealousy was yanked from his mind when Lydia Martins’ unusually shaken voice asked, `Why… why isn’t she back yet? Shouldn’t she be back by now? ´ 

 

That simple question had Deaton turning away from Scott’s half-frozen form, and stare down at the third-bathtub in the room where a third body still remained unmoving and underwater. 

 

People had always called Scott a bit slow, even his own father had more than once questioned his intellectual capacity and so had Stiles although she’d always been prepared and willing to raise her fists and spew threats at anyone else who dared to suggest Scott was slow in the brain-department; it was probably one of the many reasons why she never found other friends to hang around with, not that Scott would ever complain because Stiles was his best friend and the only sister God had seen fit to grant him. Stiles had even at the age of seven punched his dad in the nuts because he’d dared to say in a drunken state no less that Scott was a retard, and she’d screamed her face red with anger how the only person who was dumb was him because if he couldn’t see how awesome Scott was then obviously the stupid one in the family was Rafael McCall; of course his dad had then decided to say something that truly was the last straw for Scott’s mother, and even to this day the words “You’re just as crazy as your mother” haunted Stiles because at the age of seven Stiles’ mother had lost touch with reality. After that night when Scott’s dad called him a retard and accused Stiles of being crazy two things happened, Scott’s mother kicked his dad out of the house and their lives and Scott witnessed for the first-time an incredibly furious Mr. Stilinski which was a terrifying sight for a seven year old.

 

People had always questioned his intelligence and ability to notice things and as he stood there shivering and soaking wet, Scott McCall was truly a bit slow in understanding the terrible wrongness of the moment he was living through; it took him several minutes to realize what was happening and what hadn’t happened, it took watching Deaton push Lydia away from the tub and ordering Isaac who appeared suddenly unusually pale and wide eyed to come help him for Scott’s brain to point-out Stiles wasn’t out of her ice-bath yet. 

 

`Why isn’t she waking-up? Allison did. Scott did. Why isn’t she? ´ Isaac asked while rushing away from Allison’ side to help Deaton pull the body out of the water, Isaac seemed nearly as frantic as Lydia looked.

 

Scott’s body felt suddenly ten-times colder than it had been but a few minutes ago. As he realized what was wrong with the scene before him his heart felt like it dropped to the ground for the body raised from the water was Stiles’ and she looked deathly pale and limp, and the moment a patch of skin and hair was out of the water he smelled the rancid touch of death. 

 

With an ungracefulness he hadn’t possessed in years Scott stumbled over to where Deaton had directed Isaac too, the Beta had slipped a few times in his haste across the wet floor between the damn baths and the very table on which Scott’s neighbor’s spaniel Fidel had earlier that day had three tennis balls, a chew toy and what had looked suspiciously like a ball of yarn removed from its abdomen. 

 

Scott’s stomach had dropped while watching Isaac pull out the limp form of his best friend, and there had been nothing graceful about Stiles as she was dragged out of the water and carried over to where Deaton was waiting, it seemed to Scott that even in death there was nothing graceful about Stiles Stilinski. 

 

_ No, not dead, she can’t be dead.  _ Scott thought as panic surged forth. 

 

In his refusal to believe that Stiles, his amazing and strong Stiles, was dead the werewolf tried to find her heartbeat for it had to be there because Stiles couldn’t be dead. 

 

_ She can’t be dead. _

 

There was but one single heartbeat which he could detect from the body which was placed down on the cold stainless steel table with a tenderness Scott could never have imagined Isaac to show Stiles. It was the tiniest of heartbeats Scott had ever heard in his life. And while the heartbeat of the little life growing within his best friend’s body was still strong and determined Stiles’ heart was silent, which was almost enough to cause him to break down in a mournful howl. 

 

`I don’t know.´ Deaton snapped once Isaac repeated the question to which Deaton probably didn’t have a reliable answer for, `Maybe the connection wasn’t strong enough.´ Lydia visibly flinched at that and Allison was quick to reach out for her best friend and pull her into a comforting hug.

 

`Maybe it’s the pregnancy.´ Deaton’s said before settling in with Isaac, wordlessly, to try and rescue a life lost. 

 

To hear that the child Scott had fought to save might be the cause of losing his best friend left him feeling like he had personally signed Stiles’ death sentence, it wasn’t simply the issue of him wanting her to keep the baby that made him feel like judge, jury and executioner; it was also the knowledge that he should have tied Stiles to a chair or a bed, done anything really to keep her from stepping into the icy bath. 

 

Scott had failed Stiles, and her baby. He was responsible for Stiles and her baby, he was her Alpha and brother it was his job to protect her; he’d made that promise long ago to both Stiles and her father, much like she had done to him and his mother. 

 

Scott approached the table cautiously, there was a fear in him unlike any he had felt before as he moved towards the body that looked like his best friend but lacked the vibrant energy that had always drawn in him to adventures dangerous and silly. The stillness of Stiles Stilinski was absolutely terrifying. 

 

All Scott could do in his shaken and cold state was to reach out for the limp hand dangling over the edge of the table, all he could do was hold on tightly to the hand of the girl who hadn’t been against befriending the terribly shy kid with an asthma that made it impossible for him to play tag or anything that required running around or climbing; the hand he now held belonged to a person who had at the age of five managed to convince Scott’s very protective mother that she should give her an extra inhaler just in-case, they were after all always together. 

 

`Stiles.´ Scott chocked, tears making their presence known, each drop like liquid fire against his still cold skin. He tried to beg for her return, but every word got lodged in his throat because begging and pleading would make her death so much more real and he wasn’t prepared for it. He wasn’t prepared to face a world without his best friend, he wasn’t prepared to face both his mother and Stiles’ dad and having to tell them she was gone, and he wasn’t prepared to face Derek’s grief either. 

 

Stiles couldn’t die she couldn’t leave Scott to deal with the supernatural world and a life where he was without the one person who understood him even when he didn’t. 

 

** **

 


	8. Don't Leave Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek couldn’t give a damn about the world or those around him, not while he stared down at the lifeless being, he couldn’t be bothered about what the future would hold or if Isaac and Scott would survive the next few weeks or if he did. There was nothing left to care for now that Stiles was gone, and his cub would follow its mother soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go Stiles and Derek finally in the same room! But I doubt you people will be happy with it… sorry.

 

Water dripping, drop after drop, was the first sound that registered in his mind instead of all those familiar voice loud and frantic calling out the name he’d growled and snarled, snapped and barked out more often than what he had gasped, moaned or lovingly whispered. 

 

Derek struggled to understand how the silence of a single person could be so thick and suffocating within a room loud with the unnecessary voices which wormed words of no use or value. These individuals with their frantic voices were nothing to him now. 

 

Stiles’ silence was so final, so disheartening, that it nearly brought Derek to his knees but seeing the girl who had captured his heart unmoving and soaking wet on the very same table on which he had once been close to losing his arm, drew him forward demanding him to go to Stiles to confirm or deny what he was seeing. **** Derek felt like his sanity was slowly wading away and perhaps it would have left him if it hadn’t been for the faint but sure heartbeat of his cub. He focused his attention on that little but precious sound, trying to ignore the fact that without a living and breathing Stiles Stilinski his baby held no chance of surviving. ****

 

Derek inched closer and closer to the table on which Stiles had been laid down on. 

 

The way the human girl had been placed made it appear as if she was already in the morgue. The thought very that Stiles would be perhaps in an hour or so, her body placed out on a cold slab, made him sick and cold to the bone marrow. 

 

Derek struggled to understand how is lively Stiles could be taken away from him in this cruel fashion. 

 

She appeared deathly pale and soaked to the bone.Her sweatpants, the ones he knew Stiles only wore when she needed to feel safe and comfortable, clung to her like a second skin as did his t-shirt the one Derek had handed over to her straight off of his own back when she’d due to Stiles clumsiness spilled her milkshake all over herself; Derek had reacted by pure instinct when Stiles suddenly pulled off her shirt in public where men, other men, were gawking at her and it didn’t matter that she was still wearing a tiny top, so yes he’d reacted quickly and covered her up a little better. 

 

The soaked clothes clinging to Stiles’ body unforgivingly showed of how thin she’d become, and she hadn’t had any weight she could afford to lose to begin with. Seeing how thin Stiles had become made Derek feel ill because Derek knew he was partly the reason behind the bones sticking out for all to see because when Stiles was stressed or worried she’d forget to take care of herself, and it was Derek’s job to care for Stiles, even before she became pregnant with his baby it had been his job to take care of Stiles but he’d failed her at that. 

 

Deaton and Isaac seemed unaware of his presence too focused on attempting to bring back the mother of his child, Derek didn’t mind being invisible to them because if Stiles didn’t come back he might as well disappear. 

 

Derek had watched Stiles while she slept more times than he could count on his fingers and toes, even while in a deep sleep she had always moved about in one way or another, and so this unmoving version of Stiles was completely new and nightmarish. 

 

He’d never imagined having to witness Stiles like this, lifeless; he may have threatened her with death on more than one occasion but he’d never desired an untimely demise to fall upon her.His threats had been nothing more than feeble attempts to protect her from this life of danger and misery but in the end he gave into the wants of his wolf as well as those of his more human side. He’d always imagined, hoped, he’d be the one of the two of them to leave this world first with Stiles holding his hand or stroking his greyish hair, assuring him she’d be alright because she’d have their family to keep her safe and sound until she too joined him on the other-side. 

 

But this, this was not what he’d imagined. This was not what he had been expecting to happen. 

 

_ This can’t be happening,  _ Derek thought while nearly pulling out his hair and moving closer to where his mate lay dead and his child it seemed was destined to follow; and all those thoughts were enough to have the werewolf in tears. He was losing _everything_. 

 

Once close enough, at a touching distance, Scott moved aside giving him room. There was a look of hopelessness Scott’s eyes that did nothing to ease Derek’s growing grief. Derek took one of the hands that had once ran over his body all tenderly and lovingly, a hand he’d held every time the two of them were alone, a hand he had kissed more than once, a hand that had always been warm and light in his hands but which felt now cold and heavy. Derek wants to beg Stiles to come back, to not leave him but the words are stuck in his throat much like the pleas he wishes to send out to all the deities known to man. 

 

Derek feels his world fall apart as he hears his little son or daughter grow more distressed within its mother womb, and he was powerless to help. He was useless yet again. 

 

Clinging to Stiles hand with both his hands, listening to the little heart that was hanging on but growing more and more unstable with every passing minute, Derek’s mind began to work on what to do once the last heartbeat within the body that hadn’t been this still _ever_.

 

And this stillness, this unholy silence was far more frightening than the Darach or the Alpha pack were, this stillness frightened him far more than the thought of dying did.

 

This stillness, this cruel silence, was far more devastating than the loss of Boyd had been to him. This motionless form shattered something deep within him which overshadowed any pains or sorrows when finding Erica’s lifeless body after wasted months of hoping of finding her alive and well. 

 

This unforgivable quietness was one that promised Derek Hale a life without one Stiles Stilinski. 

 

`Please… please don’t do this. Stiles...please don't leave me. Please, please don’t….´ Derek finally chocked out, completely uncaring about how he may appear to those around him, there was no point trying to stay strong if he’d truly lost Stiles and the baby. What would be the point in keep up appearances of being strong and unbreakable if you had _nothing_ left to be strong for?

 

Derek doesn’t even notice Alan Deaton moving away from the young woman that was the best thing to ever happen to Derek due to the disaster that was the fire which had nearly ruined him. Derek does however notice and react when Deaton suddenly stabs his mate with a nasty looking syringe that sank so easily through the pale flesh. The werewolf pushes the dark skinned man as far away from his lifeless beauty, eyes glowing blue and fangs ready and willing to rip large chunks off of the man who treated the animals of Beacons Hills as well as its monsters, Derek was prepared to protect and defend what he had left of Stiles Stilinski. 

 

It all happened rather fast, one minute Stiles is dead and gone and Derek wants to rip Deaton’s throat out and the next Stiles is gasping for air like a fish on dry land, and Derek goes completely still and silent from shock, but then it dawns on him that she’s back and the dam breaks; Derek pulls her into his arms and just sobs tears of pure joy into her neck, Stiles’ heartbeat isn’t back to its usual beat but it’s getting there just like her breathing.

 

 

 

 


	9. Keep Your Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles wishes she was anywhere but there, wishes she was home in her own house and bed, wishes her father was there to tell her that everything would be fine. But her dad wasn’t there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we’ve still got Derek and Stiles in the same room.

 

There is a strange pain, thrumming within her veins which feel like they are contracting with every unfamiliar beat of her heart, and how those beats felt like slow angry punches against the caged walls within which her heart resided in.The world is spinning and hastily around her as she victoriously unsealed her eyes, her eyelids felt heavy and she struggled to keep them from sealing her eyes once more. The world was blurred around her and confusing, there was a part of Stiles which was convinced that there had been a pleasant sort of peace that had been lost when her eyes had opened to view this unclear world, and although she couldn’t recall if there really had been a sense of peace or if it was a simple creation of her imagination Stiles Stilinski found herself grieving the loss of it.And if she’d had the strength needed to weep, there would have been tears, but there was no such strength to waste.

 

She felt bitterly cold but there was a warmth spreading into her, although with this power that challenged the cold that had reached into her very core came a crushing sensation, one which made her feel trapped and it was a feeling she did not desire to suffer. She began to whimper in a pathetic display of unhappiness, but this force holding her in place tightened around her more so, and there was suddenly something prickly brushed against her neck and cheek, and there were her skin was being unfairly mistreated an unpleasant burning sensation flare. The discomfort, however displeasing it may have been was enough help her regain her faculties.

 

It didn’t take long before Stiles’ realizes she’s sitting on Derek’s lap while this would have been a dream come true in the past it was now a cruel reminder of times passed.

 

Derek was seated on the damp cold floor of the animal clinic, his strong back resting against one of the legs of the very table that had featured in many of her nightmares. The werewolf held her tightly, trapping her against its powerful body with arms which might have in the not too distant past caused her to feel safe and protected as well as loved and cherished.Being held in such a familiar, desperate, possessive caused a conflict to flare within her, an unwanted part of her wanted to curl up closer which was physically impossible, there was indeed a desire within her to let him hold her and comfort her, grant acceptance to the words Derek whispered in her ear considering how the werewolves in the room could hear the words that dropped from his lips; that small part that remained from a silly girl who had nervously but none the less very willingly laid down her body and trust in front of the werewolf who had made disposable promises, it was those promises that had made that foolish girl surrender her heart and body to someone who had used her up and thrown her out like a piece of trash.

 

That small useless, sad, pathetic remaining part of someone Stiles had once been wanted to surrender to Derek Hale like some weak maiden from some trashy novel. But there was a far greater part of Stiles Stilinski that had no desires to surrender to this want, she was done being hurt by others and exhausted with forgiving and forgetting the wrongs done to her, Stiles was so done with Derek Hale and his shit.

 

`Let, ´ Stiles croaked the pain in her throat becoming evident as she spoke, `me go.´ but the werewolf who had apparently found his inner octopus tightened his hold around her. 

 

`Let me go.´ Stiles repeated while forcing her body to make what appeared to be nothing more than useless little movements, but her attempt at dislodging the supernatural creature was fruitless for she had always been weaker than the beast holding her.

 

Derek shook his head ever so slightly against her neck and shoulder which had her growling out, `Scott… get him off of me.´ 

 

Derek shook his head or at least Stiles’ interpretation of the tiny movement Derek’s head made against her neck and shoulder as him shaking his head.The beast was whining so miserably that if the werewolf hadn’t shattered Stiles’ heart well then she might have taken pity on him and held Derek with the same devotion he held her, or at least stayed there in his arms awhile longer but he had broken her and she was unwilling to play nice or sympathetic with him. 

 

`Scott get him off of me, ´ Stiles said through gritted teeth, `Like. Right. Now.´

 

`Derek…´ there was something about the way Scott spoke that made Stiles think that her brother from another mother _and_ father was trying to talk to a spooked animal, and at any other time Stiles would have said something sharpish laced with sarcasm and wit; at any other time when she wasn’t freezing and aching from the top of her head to the tip of her toes, at any other time she would have said something outrageously amusing and a bit insulting, but she wasn’t thawed well enough yet to create anything creative in the form of words.

 

`Derek, dude, ´ Scott’s voice was laced with concern and a great deal of reluctance which caused Stiles to attempt to glare at the young Alpha but the slightest attempt to turn her head at the direction of her so-called brother who was now standing on thin ice caused her more than enough discomfort to nip that attempt in the ass, `you need to let her go.´ 

 

Derek whimpered like he’d been a sad little puppy kicked and beaten time and time again until there were phantom-like kicks and hits haunting it where it curled in a corner petrified into stillness, and Stiles fought not to reach out and comfort the werewolf that had impregnated her before cheating and leaving her; it was difficult for her to keep her tongue from betraying her determination to loath Derek to the end of her life, it was a battle to keep her heart from surrendering to the whispers and demands for forgiveness and understanding that attempted to chip-away at her resolve. 

 

Derek shook his head at the words Scott had spoken, refusing to obey him and simply attempting to hold Stiles closer and hide as much of her from the True Alpha’s gaze by covering her head which he now pressed against his neck and shoulder with the very hands that had held her own slender ones, but there was no hiding from Scott McCall or Stiles unhappiness with the situation. 

 

`Let me GO.´ Stiles snapped against the familiar neck which she had once loved to nip and lick and kiss when she and the werewolf trapping her had been left alone, a neck she had spouted poetry about in one of her many little notebooks much like she had once done with the other parts of his well sculptured body which Stiles had been allowed and able to appreciate, of course now she would have preferred to have been able to lay her hands around that pillar of flesh and squeeze all her hurt and frustration into it until something snapped. 

 

`No.´ Derek whined while rubbing his face against her shoulder and neck, the beard he’d grown scratching at her sensitive skin, there had been a time when she had squeal with delight when Derek had found his playful side and rubbed the scruff of his five-o’clock shadow against her sensitive skin, but now she felt nothing but discomfort and unhappiness. 

 

`Scott.´ Stiles growled, demanding thus for her friend to step in and be the Alpha he was supposed to be, to keep to his word of always being on her side not to mention to hold his promises of always protecting and defending her when the need would arise, `Get him off me, right now Scott. Right the fuck now Scott.´ 

 

`Derek, ´ there was no more firmness in Scott’s voice than there was to a lone string of spaghetti cooked too long, there was no sternness in the young Alpha’s voice and it made Stiles fume a little because there was a limit to how much she could stand Scott’s goodness; she could appreciate Scott kindness at the best of times but at the moment she would have preferred him to be a little less sympathetic to Derek’s idiotic behavior.

 

`Dude, you need to let her go.´ Scott continued voice cautious and soft, `She’s freezing Derek, we need to get her dry, ´ those words had Derek easing his almost cruel hold of her and Stiles felt like she could actually breathe for once without fearing she might feel her ribcage give-in, but the hold was still firm enough to keep her stuck to the older werewolf. 

 

`She’s freezing Derek.´ 

 

Derek turned his gazed down at Stiles who was shivering so hard that her teeth were chattering, and as she looked at the face and into the eyes of the man she had fallen so hard for her resolve to hate him forever nearly broke, for Derek looked wrecked and the desire to comfort grew while her anger wavered; so much so that her hand began to itch with the need to touch, to brush away those tears that continued to escape from the person she’d dared to believe would be hers until death did they part. 

 

`You need to release Ms. Stilinski, Derek.´ Deaton said, breaking the momentary weakness in Stiles heart, her hand dropped immediately and she closed her eyes tightly while berating herself mentally for giving into those remaining feelings within her feeble body, `I need to give her a check-up,´ another whimper and a whine escaped from the werewolf, `I need to make sure Stiles and the baby are alright after their ordeal.´ Deaton’s words seemed to be the magic words needed because suddenly Stiles was on the table that was practical and easy to clean and one which featured in some of her nightmares but then again her life had become a nightmare. 

 


	10. I See You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The baby was there; right there for him to see it and Derek’s heart swelled with love like none he had felt before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now please do remember this story isn’t perfect nor does it follow exactly the story line of the series Teen Wolf, so don’t start yelling at me that things aren’t right. Just try and enjoy the story, and if not then I’m sorry that this isn’t your cup of tea (oh now I want tea).   
> But to this little chapter, so we get more of Stiles and Derek and some of you might start hating Stiles a little, but I’m fine with that because I’m still siding with her because she’s a teenager, pregnant, heartbroken and angry. And sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but yeah time is against me but I really wanted to give you all something to show I’m not dead or something.

 

`Could you please keep your hands to yourself.´ Stiles groaned as the werewolf continued to touch her, running his slightly shaky hands over her arms and shoulders as well her as down her sides all the way down to her stomach while she sat as still as she possibly could while Deaton listened to her heart. Stiles knew her heart wasn’t beating quite right at the moment, she could feel the irregularities of the beats the complicated muscle created, and it should have frightened her but she couldn’t care much about her own survival while her father might be dead or dying in some creepy ass root-cellar. 

 

`Why don’t you just leave? ´ Stiles snapped while Deaton moved to check her pulse for the second time, it was clear he was worried about the less than normal way her heart was beating and it was a strange thing to realize that Alan Deaton was actually concerned for her or perhaps the baby within her it was a Hale after all. 

 

`Go and find my father before your psycho bitch of a girlfriend kills him.´ She snapped while Derek attempted to entwine their fingers, but she pulled her hand back like his touch might burn her. 

 

`Stiles.´ Scott rather pleadingly while gazing back and forth between Stiles and Derek, silently telling her to be kind or at least rein in her anger enough not to be cruel. 

 

Stiles didn’t miss the way Derek seemed to curl in on himself due to her anger and bring forth the woman who’d taken her place in his heart and bed, be it by the use of magical means. Stiles knew now after several talks with Deaton as well as the letter Derek had left for her to find on the windshield of her Jeep. But even knowing about the possible magical interference that had separated her from Derek did nothing to ease the heartache and betrayal Stiles felt. 

 

`She’s not my girlfriend. She never was.´ Derek said voice full of self-loathing, eyes downcast but his hands remained on her, continuing to caress her skin with the same tenderness he’d so often shown her while they remained alone and undisturbed; and dear heavens how her body desired those gentle signs of what she had perceived as affection to continue and never stop.

 

`Would you please lay down for me Ms. Stilinski? ´ Deaton asked while taking a step back from her, and Stiles obliged him as best she could with her body still stiff from the coldness that had seeped deep within her flesh and bones, but of course even now Derek had to be there touching and yes helping her into the desired position; without the strength needed to lift her own useless legs she was reduced to accept Derek’s assistance, she bit her tongue to fight off the tears of humiliation and anger she felt at the knowledge that she needed his help. 

 

With her legs set out on the table where the rest of her body also laid, Derek suddenly snatched one of the towels nearby and folded it before pillowing it beneath her head, she wanted to thank him for the small comfort he provided but all she could do was huff in slight annoyance; his tenderness, care, and worry were slowly chipping away at her resolve to loath him for all eternity. 

 

`Just leave. Find my dad. Do for once what you’ve promised.´ Stiles said rather sharply while closing her eyes to the hurt she could see in the eyes that had mesmerizes her into silence more than once, but the truth of the matter was she simply couldn’t deal with Derek at the moment. She wasn’t strong enough to handle him and everything else that revolved around him and her; she couldn’t deal with the disaster that was now and forever known as Derek Hale and Stiles Stilinski.

 

`I can’t. I need – I need to make sure you and the baby are alright.´ was Derek’s simple response and refusal. 

 

Stiles nearly snapped at him for deciding to torment her with his presence, for deciding this thing inside her was more important than her only living parent, but instead she bit her lip, she was tiered and done with wasting her words on the asshole standing beside her. 

 

Perhaps misjudging her silence as acceptance or permission to stay useless and at her side, whatever the reason may be the werewolf suddenly reached out to stroke Stiles’ hair, cradling his fingers through the soaking strands reminding her of all the times she had shared a bath or a shower with Derek and the memory cut her heart like a dagger.Derek even dared an attempted at to hold her hand but Stiles would have none of that and quickly yanked her hand out of his and squeezed both of her hands into weak little fists.

 

Stiles hated the way she wanted to touch Derek, she despised herself for wanting to be held by Derek while she cried herself free from all the hurt and pain she felt, she wanted to cry her fears and anxieties away against the solid strong shoulder she had clung onto and at times massaged until the werewolf was like putty in her hands. But Stiles was equally as stubborn as she was lonely, and so she sealed her eyes and bit her lip and fought against her desire to surrender. Tears of anger burned behind her eyelids. 

 

`We’ll go.´ Scott said, and for once that very night Scott’s voice was firm and unwavering, and Stiles turned her gaze towards her best friend who looked like a soaked puppy where he was standing, even though he was in the middle of changing into a dry set of clothes.

 

`Isaac and I will find them.´ Scott said, `I promise you Stiles’ we’ll find your dad.´ Scott may have promised to find her dad, but thankfully he did not promise her he’d find him alive, and Stiles appreciated it because at that moment in time she would not be able to handle anymore promises broken. 

 

`We know where they are.´ Isaac said glancing at Scott to confirm what he had been saying was true, and Scott nodded shortly but surely confirming what Stiles already knew. Stiles knew that Scott had the knowledge now to find his mother and her father. 

 

`I’ll find them.´ Scott said before turning to leave, followed by Isaac as well as Lydia and Allison, although Stiles had her suspicions about where the two girls were heading. 

 

** ~*~ **

 

Derek could barely stand still, the excitement he felt from the knowledge that he would soon see his cub was so overpowering that he didn’t notice how suddenly it was only Deaton who was left to share this wonderful moment with him and his mate.Derek’s eyes were glued on the screen which for the time being showed nothing of great interest as Deaton had yet to locate the little cub or baby as it could be perfectly human and not a werewolf, either way Derek would love and cherish his offspring and protect it with all his might. 

 

Derek was so ensnarled by the possibility that he might see his baby that he wasn’t even aware of how his fingers combed through Stiles hair, the cold and wet strands were all a terrible reminder of the foolishly dangerous act of love and loyalty the girl had for her own father; that very trait had been one of many things that had drawn Derek and his wolf towards the teenage girl who had slowly bloomed out of baggy clothes and revealed the beauty that had been hiding from the world around her, however she had revert back into those unflattering clothes after Derek had shamed her and the love they had shared. 

 

The grainy image seemed to hold nothing of great interest, and if he hadn’t heard that wonderful sound of the little life growing inside the beautiful body of Stiles Stilinski then Derek would have thought the baby had been lost.But then suddenly there it was, although for now it did not look much like a human but some creature from one of the sci-fi movies Laura had loved to watch. But the baby was there, alive, little heart beating all proud and strong and Derek could feel his heart explode with joy.

 

It might not look pretty but it was his baby and it was alive and growing. It was perfection. 

 

Derek found himself so perfectly enthralled by the image of his little one that he didn’t hear the less than amicable arrival of his little sister and uncle, he did not heart the loud slamming of doors or the loud voices of Cora and Peter still trapped in a heated argument, he would have remained perfectly oblivious to their arrival if not for Stiles, her entire person reacted to the unexpected arrivals; she jumped just a little where she lay before she tensed-up so tightly Derek could have sworn he heard her muscles and bones complain, her wonderful eyes snapped open and wide with both fear and mortification, her hands scrambling to shelter her exposed abdomen was enough to alert the werewolf to the interruption and possible threat. 

 

His reaction was immediate and without much thought, it was pure instinct that had him going from appearing 100% human to something nightmarish. The need to protect his mate was paramount enough that the werewolf did not entertain caution, and so without confirming the threat to be real he lunged at the figure that came walking in on the private moment he’d been sharing with his mate.The shape stills and drops to the ground before Derek can swipe his claws across its long sturdy neck, and the werewolf expects to feel claws rip deep gashes across his stomach but instead he hears a familiar whine that causes him to stop in his tracks and gaze at the figure on the floor. 

 

Peter was on his knees, palms flat against the floor, his head tilted to the side revealing his strong neck in submission, eyes closed and little whines pleading for Derek to calm down and show some mercy. It’s all enough to snap Derek from the red-mist that had washed over him. 

 

`Did you see it?´ Peter asked the moment Derek was back in control, his piercing-blue eyes had moved from Derek towards were Stiles and Deaton and the item that had allowed Derek to see his son or daughter for the first-time was, `The baby, did you see it?´ 

 

`Yes.´ Derek responded lips quirking up into a genuine smile, offering his hand to help his uncle to his feet and Peter grabbed his hand firmly face brightened by a smile Derek hadn’t seen in years, a smile he’d thought had been lost with their late-family. 

 

`Really?´ Peter’s scent changed from aggravated, worried, and slightly fearful into full-blown joy and excitement and it made Derek preen a little at the knowledge he’d created something to bring out the uncle he had thought lost. 

 

Derek gave a satisfied and eager nod which earned him a hug from his uncle, be it a brief one as Peter pulled back quickly enough and glanced over at where Stiles and Deaton were, `May I see?´ the question came out cautiously but none the less hopeful. The younger werewolf answered without hesitation or thought, `Of course.´

 

** **

 


	11. Holding On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora knew she lacked the ability to show affection, support, or sympathy without making it appear like poor acting. And yet all Cora wanted to do was to give the pregnant teenager support, sympathy as well as all the comfort Stiles deserved after everything that had been done to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a small chapter with Cora. I’m sorry for the long wait, but I’ve been back to work again and it’s been hell on earth. And Christmas is drawing near and I’ve had to prepare for it. Hopefully I’ll get chapter 12 sooner rather than later.

 

When Cora Hale slipped through the doors of the local animal clinic she was struck by an awful stench, one which she had never experienced before, and she was able rather easily to locate the source of the smell that caused her wolf to whine and whimper with fear and worry, the reek that insulted her senses made her tense and close to losing control of her inner beast. And that disgustingly unnerving stench came from one single person. 

 

Stiles reeked of pure and undeniable unhappiness and self-loathing. Sure, ever since Derek’s betrayal a constant smell of misery and anger had become a part of Stiles scent, the girl who’d shown Cora nothing but sarcasm and kindness had reek of someone who had their heart shattered and their trust betrayed. And if Cora had to be perfectly honest she missed the light scent of Stiles Stilinski when she’d been happier, that scent had been fresh and bright like a bright spring day. 

 

Cora wasn’t too surprised by her brother’s less than welcoming reaction to their arrival, or it was rather Peter’s unthoughtful storming of the building that held the pregnant-possible-mate of a werewolf, the vulnerable state and position of the expecting female made Derek’s reaction fairly reasonable so much in fact that if Derek had ripped Peter’s throat out with his teeth no werewolf would judge him for it. 

 

Peter’s reaction to Derek’s possibly deadly attack was quick, and it was that perfect display of surrender and submission that finally cleared the rage within Derek; everything from Peter’s body language to the soothing little sounds he made as he offered his throat to Derek’s whim was perfect. 

 

Cora could understand a lot of things at that moment in time. She could however not understand how her brother was so oblivious to the severity of Stiles’ unhappiness. 

 

And by the heavens how hard Cora wanted to punch her brother in his grinning face, but instead she glared over at Deaton who seemed equally as unaware of how miserable Stiles seemed to be; none of this seemed faire on the girl who’d tried so hard to befriend Cora and help her deal with being reunited with the living members of her family. Cora gritted her teeth hard enough for it to hurt when Derek didn’t even ask Stiles if she was okay with Peter to be there, to see the baby growing inside her, and Cora felt ashamed of herself for standing there in that room even if she did avoid looking at the screen which wasn’t at that moment showing much anyway.Sure, there was a loud growling part within her that wanted to see her possible niece or nephew, a part that wanted to claim the cub as a part of her family and pack; but, and there was a giant but in there that kept telling Cora that this simply wasn’t alright, none of it was alright and so she averted her gaze to anything but the machine that had the power to show them what was growing inside of Stiles Stilinski.

 

Cora glared at the backs of Derek’s and Peter’s heads as they moved towards where Stiles was lain down on a cold hard table, body shivering visibly and with beautiful brown eyes shut tight but still tears were somehow escaping, she felt bad for the girl who looked like drenched in various of ways and so very breakable. The young werewolf gathered her nerves and moved over to stand besides Stiles, right across where her brother was standing still beaming happily at the screen while Deaton went back to try and find the spawn.

 

Derek’s handmight be holding Stiles’ and the other might be combing through her brown hair but it was clear that Derek wasn’t focused on Stiles only on the chance to see the baby with the walls of her flesh, and so Cora reached out for Stiles free hand and held it tightly not sure of what else to do.This contact, this sign of silent support caused the human girl to open her eyes and gaze up at Cora with her red-rimmed eyes, tears still escaping, and how it all disturbed the young werewolf to see the human that had been surprisingly kind towards Cora who hadn’t exactly started of receptive to any display of kindness from a none-were.

 

Cora squeezed the delicate hand as tightly as she dared there was a difference in how much strength she could on the fragile hand of a human being, she attempted to convey by touch alone that Stiles wasn’t alone because Cora would be there for her even if Cora didn’t possess the knowledge of how exactly she should be there for the lonely human. 

 

`There we are.´ Deaton said his voice seemingly calm but there was something behind that façade, something edging along amazement and Cora wanted to take a look, she really did but she held firm in her support and continued to look down into the eyes that had once been so full of mirth but seemed now full of deep rooted misery. 

 

Both Derek and Peter let their breaths which they had been holding out. The nervous excitement the two males had been sharing passing, one of them or perhaps both Cora really couldn’t be sure chuckled with delight at the sight of the unborn child. Stiles however seemed to disappear further into the dark space in her mind, drowning in it, closing her eyes tightly while a sob caused her body to shake and Cora wrapped both her hands tightly around the one she held feeling useless. 

 

`Everything seems perfectly fine with the baby.´ the vet said, and Cora could sense the little bit of anxiousness that had been clinging to her brother evaporate. 

 

Derek and Peter turned towards each other, sharing a tight hug. Peter even went as far as congratulating Derek for a job well done, the words made her snort in displeasure because all Derek had done was pregnant a girl against her will. 

 

Deaton continued to survey the image for a second longer before mumbling, ` No doubt about it a werewolf.´ 

 

`Did you hear that? ´ Peter beamed at Derek who looked for a moment like he’d been stunned, and then that expression changed into something much more like amazement, before it switched to something like pure-joy and there was aside of Cora who felt pretty much the same way, but unlike Derek she was painfully aware of how miserable the mother of the growing werewolf was and so her joy was not as glorious as that of her kin. 

 

`Everything seems to be fine. `Baby’s growing as expected. Heartbeats strong.´ Deaton continued to say while his eyes seemed to move over the image like it held all the answers to the mysteries of the world. 

 

Cora could see her brother’s smile grow twice its usual size, and there was a part of her that wanted to slap it right off of his face and demand him to see how much this moment, this situation was hurting Stiles, but she held her ground and focused on Stiles trying to give her as much comfort as she possible could; but Cora knew she lacked the same natural nature of comforting which her mother had possessed, she knew she wasn’t as adapted at making someone’s woes ease in their severity as skillfully as Stiles could, and so Cora Hale could only stand there in wordless support. 

 

`I’d say this is a perfectly healthy and strong werewolf cub.´ Deaton said a light smile passing on his lips, and Cora had to wonder on who’s side Deaton’s loyalties stood, if it was with the unborn werewolf or Derek for the young female werewolf wasn’t all too convinced it was with Stiles. 

 

`Look at him… her,´ Peter said voice full of amazement, leaning a little bit over Stiles body to get a closer look at the image before him, `Amazing.´

 

`Stiles,´ Derek said voice full of awe with a deep rooted fondness within it, and Cora could understand it she really could because that little life with a powerful heartbeat was something that symbolized the beginning of something new; that little life was a beacon of hope for a family, a pack, burned into ashes. Cora understood the value of the baby within Stiles’ womb, but she also understood that the baby might not be any of it to Stiles.

 

`Look at our baby, look at our perfect baby.´ Derek said voice alight with the joyfulness Cora had thought lost forever, but Stiles continued to keep her eyes closed while shaking her head, and Cora had enough of seeing Stiles so unhappy and suffering from the rather cold treatment she was being shown by those around her, and so Cora growled out and flashed her less than human eyes at the man who had been the Emissary of her mothers pack, `Are you done? ´

 

Deaton seemed genuinely surprised by Cora’s question and gazed at her with a slightly raised eyebrow. 

 

~*~

 

Derek Hale had never imagined it possible to love Stiles more than he already did, but seeing the life the two of them had managed to create during the youthful days of their unexpected love made it clear to the werewolf he _could_ love her more than he had ever thought possible. **** It of course stood to reason that the quirky teenager would prove him wrong, she had done so from the very first day they crossed paths, she’d made him love again after years of settling for quick and meaningless affairs with no emotional attachments whatsoever; Stiles Stilinski was something, someone, Derek had never imagined he could have and she was someone he could never imagine to be without ever again. 

 

Derek’s heart swelled with a pride he had never experienced before. His heart had never felt so light with a sense unrecognizable love as it did then and there as he took in the first image of their baby, a baby Stiles had managed to create and grow so perfectly with in her young womb He was in pure awe of the wonder that was his little cub and the brilliance that was his mate.

 

`Stiles, ´ he was aware of how he must sound and yet he felt no shame in it, because there was no shame in revealing how much Stiles had affected him with her gloriousness. There was no describing the joy he felt, and he could not imagine Stiles not sharing in this joy but when he turned to look at the beautiful young woman who’d held him afloat when his own body had turned useless. Derek was stunned in to silence for everything about the girl who carried within her beautiful and surprisingly strong body his offspring spoke of anything but happiness. And her scent had his wolf whining pitifully. 

 

`Are we done? ´ Cora asked voice sharp, angry, and cold. And it startled Derek to find his sister so displeased by the moment that should have been a moment of shared joy between all of them. Derek couldn’t fathom why neither his sister who had lost as much as he had would continue to stand against the little life now that it could be seen and heard.It baffled him and his wolf to find both mother and his little sister so set against the little cub.

 

`What’s the hurry? ´ Peter asked, eyes wide in amazement as he took in the details of the little life that was a great beacon of hope for the future of their family, Cora responded to the question with nothing more than a short and angry growl but aside from the loud and surprisingly hostile sound she ignored their uncle and instead repeated the question she’d already asked once.

 

`Are we done?´ The man who may be a master of knowledge but held no real power seemed to weigh the question or perhaps the answer as if the fate of the world lay within the Yes or No answer. 

 

`Stiles?´ Derek repeated this time with what felt like a lump in his throat and a knot in his stomach, there was even a growing uneasiness within him suddenly and it frightened the werewolf more than he thought reasonable, `Stiles, please just look.´ Stiles however held firm and shook her head. 

 

`Stiles, please, just look.´ Derek tries again, pleading really for Stiles to just take a look at their baby, to see the wonder he already loved with his heart and soul, but once more she shook her head and refused to budge to his will, `Stiles you need to see.´

 

`Will you stop!´Cora snapped while glaring at Derek and shoving Deaton hard enough to cause the man to fall off of his chair and on to the floor, thus cutting off any sight to the baby growing within Stiles’ body. 

 

`Cora! ´ Peter barked in outrage the moment the cub vanished from his sight. 

 

`Stop being a dick Derek. Can’t you see she doesn’t want to look at it? ´ Cora snarled while her eyes glowed yellow and angry at him, `You can’t force her to do this Derek.´ 

 

`What are you saying Cora? ´ Peter quickly replied all growling and angry, `Are you saying she should just get rid of it? Flush the baby down the toilet like one of your stupid goldfishes? ´ 

 

Peter’s words caused Derek to feel a sickening chill wash over him, just the thought of aborting the little cub he had been graced to see made him ill and the thought of it being flushed away like it held no value whatsoever was a notion he could not carry with ease. The idea that his baby would be killed and then flushed down the drain made his wolf growl and snarl like a rabid beast, it wouldn’t tolerate such a fate to the little life within the protective womb of its mate. 

 

`Yes.´ Cora roared, shocking both Derek and Peter, `Yes. If that’s what she wants.´

 

****

 


	12. Hopeless Surrender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes surrendering was the easier way to go when nothing but hopelessness sat within your tiered chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I want you all to remember that this is an AU so the following scene isn’t much like in the show so please don’t kill me. Oh, and please don’t kill me because of what happens either. Oh, and I had like 3 different versions to this chapter, one from Chris POV and with the Sheriff’s POV and of course this one; the reason I chose this one was because it’s the longest one and this might be the last chance we get to see Melissa in proper Mama McCall mode and some other things are revealed, but don’t worry the Sheriff will have his day too but that will come late though. I’m also sorry if you dislike what I did here when it comes to Melissa.

 

When confessions of fears, secrets never shared were brought to light with an air of deep shame, when feelings of guilt were voiced and brought into light, these were the first of many signs that spoke of hopelessness settling in.Melissa had seen it all before, she knew the signs. Melissa could spot the moment someone lost the ability to believe in better days a mile away. 

 

Melissa could not deny that with each frightfully loud creak or the simple groans of the wooden beams that attempted to keep the ceiling from crashing down on them, the very beams they were tied too, as well as the occasional snap of old wood or tiered and worn down roots doubt began to seep into her own consciousness wearing down some of her own inner strength. **** It would take a great while before the trust Melissa held for her son and the girl who had become unbeknown to Stiles her daughter. Melissa knew that neither one of her kids would give-up on her or the man that was their father as much as she was their mother. 

 

Melissa had lost faith in more than a few things in her life, but in her children she had faith far greater than the Holy Father had for his God and church. 

 

There was also the need to be there for Stiles and Scott, as well as Isaac that made it impossible for Melissa to accept even the possibility that she wouldn’t be there to see her kid’s graduate high school, and Stiles would graduate high school with a baby or no baby Melissa would make sure of it. Melissa had to be around to help the kids with their choosing of colleges because they were all going to go even if it would bankrupt her, Stiles was going to college even if she had a baby or not because Melissa would pack her bags and follow her if need be to ensure it; Stiles deserved more than to be trapped in Beacon Hills and attending community college. **** She’d spent too many years watching her son and the girl that had become the daughter her husband never gave her to not watch them build lives and families of their own; she wanted to continue to argue with both Isaac and Scott about how important it was for the two of them to continue on with their studies, and she was hell bent on getting Isaac to see at least the school counselor because there was no way Isaac’s past wouldn’t come back to haunt him in the future, and Melissa needed to continue to be around to remind Stiles to sleep and eat more because it was clear to her that Stiles was incapable of taking care of her own health as splendidly as she when it came to the lives of those around her. ****

 

Melissa had plans, plans that involved her surviving and experiencing the joy of watching her kids, and there was no denying it that Stiles had been her daughter for years and years now while Isaac was slowly blooming into a second son to her simply by being his sweet self, she had to be there to watch them grow-up and create their own lives and stories; she had to be around to experience the joys of being a grandmother. 

 

Melissa simply refused to leave Stiles now that she needed her the most, and there was no way come hell or high water that Melissa would abandon the girl who was at the moment struggling with a life changing choice. Melissa _had_ to be there to ensure that the girl who took care of everyone else wasn’t left to deal with everything on her own. Melissa _had_ to be _there_ to make sure this dreadful situation did not leave Stiles ruined. 

 

Melissa had been avoiding her tendencies and desires to mother Stiles Stilinski simply because she’d feared that the child who’d lost her mother at an unreasonably young age would begin to recent her, hate her even, but now faced with the prospect of dying made the cautiousness fly out the window and thus making it impossible for Melissa to continue on ignoring her own needs when it came to the foolishly stubborn girl. **** Melissa was going to tell that stubborn child that although she Melissa McCall was not Stiles’ biological mother she loved the girl like a mother should.

 

Melissa would no longer pretend that when people made the desirable mistake of thinking that Stiles was hers that she didn’t feel like it was true or that when patients asked her if she had kids she didn’t say she had two, a boy and a girl or that she didn’t still keep every drawing Stiles had made in a little box in her closet just like with all of Scott’s little arts and crafts. And Melissa wasn’t going to deny that ithurt deeply when others pointed out that Stiles wasn’t hers or that she had no rights to the girl, and if Melissa was perfectly honest she still carried around the hurt that had been born from the night when she’d threatened to take Stiles away from John Stilinski when the man had spent days drunk and uncaring after being forced to leave his job because of the Kanima disaster, the words, “You have no right, you’re not her mother” had stabbed her deep in the heart and she had for the very first time in her life struck someone in anger. 

 

Of course John had apologized profusely for his words, but it still stung deeply and the pain might never truly leave her; she’d even had nightmares where Stiles had been killed sometimes by a werewolf and John denied her the right to attend the funeral. 

 

Still regardless of the hurt John had caused Melissa knew Stiles needed the both of them, and she would be damned if she allowed John to just lay down and die. And the best way how was to remind the man why he must live on. 

 

`You can’t give up John.´ Melissa said while trying to fight her bounds, the ropes were digging into her wrists but she was sure as hell not going to just sit still and hope for the best, `Stiles needs you.´

 

A displeased huff left the tiered and pale man.

 

Melissa could tell that the dark spot where the not mortal wound lay hidden had grown and although the wound was not great the loss of blood could become a problem, and with the air growing colder around them Melissa was beginning to feel a great deal of concern for the Sheriff. 

 

`Stiles doesn’t need me.´ the father said sounding rather bitter, `She’s never needed me.´ and if those words didn’t carry the brand of self-pity and loss of hope then Melissa didn’t know what did, and it sparked an anger within her much like the one Melissa had felt every time her son had to deal with the fact that his father wasn’t around. 

 

`Now you listen to me John Stilinski.´ Melissa didn’t even attempt to hide the anger she felt, her voice was hard and unforgiving, `She’s needs you, she’s always needed you.´ 

 

A disbelieving snort followed which even caused the hunter to raise an eyebrow. 

 

`Needs me?´ there was such self-loathing in his voice that it reminded Melissa of all the times she’d walked in on him drowning his sorrow with a bottle of Jack, `She’s never needed me.´

 

`When she was little she had Claudia, it was always the two of them.´ the bitterness was slowly seeping back into his voice as he repeated the same words he’d said a hundred times before, `If Stiles scrapped her knee it wasn’t to me she ran too but her mother or you. If she was sick she didn’t cry out for me but her mother. When Claudia died, she stopped needing anyone.´

 

Melissa is about to snap at John to stop being an idiot, to point out how wrong he was but Chris Argent beat her too it sounding almost as furious as she felt. 

 

`They’ll always need us. Always.´ Melissa turns to look at the man who had fairly recently ended up having to raise his own daughter alone, `Even when they say they don’t, they do.´ there was a sadness in his voice one which wasn’t mirrored in his eyes, `And we can’t just stop taking care of them, we just can’t stop taking care of our kids no matter how old or grown-up they think they are. The moment, the very first sight we have of them, the second we hold them we can’t stop taking care of them.´ and the hunter glares, `You’re her dad, you can’t just give-up on her _ever_.´

 

`You – you don’t know my daughter.´ John says sounding angry and bitter, `She’s different, and she’s…´

 

`Pregnant.´ the word just drops from her mouth far too quickly to be stopped, and she stops breathing and Melissa knows she shouldn’t have said it, it wasn’t her place to tell. 

 

`W-what? W-what did you say? ´ John asked his expression surprisingly blank and his voice was strangely hollow. 

 

The cat was out of the bag now, running around like her thoughts had been doing since she’d awaken to this nightmare underground, and Melissa knew she had nothing to lose by further spilling the beans. 

 

`She’s pregnant John.´ until now Melissa had avoided saying those words aloud, as if simply repeating them inside her head would be enough to undo the damage done, and there was damage she could see it in the once so bright brown eyes of the girl who never seemed to surrender to anything; it was as if the baby created by the thoughtless and selfish bastard that was Derek Hale had finally managed to break the wonderful spirit that Stiles had possessed. 

 

Melissa had watched Stiles grow-up, she’d been the one who’d raced over to Stilinski house when Stiles at the age of thirteen woke-up on a warm summer Saturday to find her sheets and panties bloodied and stomach hurting, Melissa had of course had the “when a girl becomes a woman” talk years before and Stiles had naturally done her own research and traumatized Scott with what she’d learned. But regardless of talks, research, and the necessary preparations it had still been a shock to the girl who’d gone from hysterical screaming to hysterical crying leaving her father at a complete loss. **** It had been Melissa talking Stiles down from a panic attack while her father stood useless behind the bathroom door, mumbling words like “why couldn’t have a boy” and “a son would be easier to handle” and it had been Melissa who had sent the Sheriff out for ice-cream while she helped Stiles figure out the new necessities of her life; it had also been Melissa who had insisted on Stiles going on the pill arguing for days with the very much reluctant father who seemed prefer to believe Stiles would never have sex. ****

 

`What? ´ the sheriff breathed out and he had gone frightfully pale. But none of mattered, all that matter was to get the man to understand that he had to fight for his daughter. 

 

` Stiles is pregnant, John.´ Melissa said, finally feeling the extent of the anger and hurt she had been feeling since watching Stiles realize the situation she was in, `And she’s terrified.´ 

 

`What? No.´ John said shaking his head just ever so slightly, `No.´ 

 

`Yes. John, Stiles _is_ pregnant.´ 

 

The anger flared behind the once so dull eyes, and that anger was what John needed to survive, although Melissa did worry towards whom the man would direct his anger, if it was towards his pregnant teenage daughter then that could be detrimental to Stiles wellbeing. 

 

`Who? ´ the sheriff growled almost like a werewolf and the mane was straining the minds tying him to one of wooden beams, `Is it Scott’s? Is it?!´ 

 

Melissa was utterly shocked that John could even think her son would do such a thing, their kids were more like siblings than anything else, `I’ll fucking kill him! ´ 

 

`Scott?´ Chris asked sounding almost as shocked by the accusation as Melissa was, glancing at the mother of the boy who was being accused of violating the so-called innocence of the Sheriff’s daughter. 

 

`I knew. I knew it. I knew I should have put a stop to those two hanging around alone. I fucking knew it.´ John kept raging his face red, `I’ll fucking kill him.´ ****

 

`It’s not Scotts! ´ Melissa snapped but John didn’t hear him instead he continued to spew out violent and somewhat creative ideas he had about how he would kill her son, which was ridiculous considering how even if Scott had fancied Stiles and she him in a lustful way there wouldn’t have been a bone in Scott’s body that would have dared to do anything without John’s blessing.

 

`JOHN! It’s NOT Scott.´ Melissa screamed loud enough to cause her throat to hurt. 

 

`Of course it’s not Scott’s.´ Chris said quickly, agreeing with Melissa which was surprising because a part of her was certain that the hunter wouldn’t mind seeing John put a bullet through Scott’s skull or at least through both of his kneecaps. 

 

The angry father seemed to pause for a second, but everything about his body language made it clear he was still fighting to get free from the binds holding him in place, a little bit of earth rained down on him. 

 

`Jesus. John. They are as good as siblings, there’s no attraction there what so ever.´ Melissa said, even though at times she had herself pondered over the idea that perhaps the two would find each other sexually attractive, but once you’d seen the two together more times than not there was no denying that they were brother and sister. 

 

`THEN WHO?!´ John roared, `THEN WHO RAPED MY DAUGHTER?!´ 

 

`John. Your blood pressure.´ Melissa pleaded not at all sure if she could point out that Stiles had willingly slept with Derek Hale, but all she got was a murderous glare from the Sheriff who yelled back at her, `Screw my bloody blood pressure. Is it Isaac? Is it that curly haired little bastard? It is, isn’t it? ´

 

`NO!´ Melissa barked back, `Isaac would never, ever, do such a thing.´ if she’d been able to use her body enough to slap John across his bright red face, `Jesus. Really John, are you completely oblivious to your daughter John? ´

 

`THEN WHO?´ the usually calm man roared, eyes bulging out of his head while battling the ropes holding him in place, `WHO’S THE BASTARD? TELL ME! ´

 

`Derek? ´ Chris said suddenly and Melissa knew her silence, be it a short one was enough to confirm rather than deny the identity of the father, `It’s Derek right? ´ 

 

`Derek? As in Derek Hale?´ John looked suddenly like his heart was about to give up on him, eyes wide and staring at Chris for a minute before turning to Melissa and something about her expression had to confirm it because John lost his calm completely. 

 

`I’m going to fucking kill him. I will castrate him and then I’m going to kill him.´ John roared as he worked to free himself, and Melissa wasn’t sure if she would even try and stop him if he did go after Derek Hale because there was indeed a part of her that wanted to see the Alpha dead for what he’d done to her sweet girl. 

 

** ~*~ **

 

Pure rage replaced the numbness that had settled within him, it had been several years since that unforgiving feeling had penetrated him and spread through his veins like a wildfire, at yet it hadn’t been long enough since this desire to destroy _everything_ between him and the person who’d dared to take and hurt his baby girl. It had been years since John had been drive to the point where his professionalism was completely lost, it had been years since he’d been pushed to completely ignore the laws he’d sworn to uphold, and he had hoped back when this feeling and these thoughts of murder and vengeance first appeared that they would never be spurred back into life ever again. 

 

The last time this feeling of uncontrollable desire to kill someone with his bare-hands had been when his little girl had been but three years old, just a baby really with chubby little cheeks which he’d loved to kiss and caress, back then Claudia had still been alive and her uncle was no more dead than she was. **** Back then before the incident that changed his baby girl just a little bit, maybe for the better or perhaps for the worse John could never tell which, his little princess didn’t hesitate to trust her elders enough not to walk off with the man who wore a similar uniform to her daddy’s and why should she when both her mother and father always told her to trust the people John worked with? ** **

 

When Claudia had called John he’d been in the middle of explaining to Mrs. Rogers why he had to give her a ticket for continuing to drive around with both of her headlights broken even after several warnings, but the issue of Mrs. Rogers excuses and sweet southern manners were quickly forgotten the minute he'd heard his wife hiccup the words, `Johnny – Johnny, tell me, please tell me you have her.´ 

 

For four hours John Stilinski had lived with terrifying thoughts he’d never imagined he’d have while thinking about his daughter, for hours deputy John Stilinski’s mind tortured him with all the horrible things the depraved man who’d his baby girl while she and her mother visited the mall only a day shy from Christmas Eve, and between those unimaginable horrors where his little girl always cried for him to save her from the clutches of the monster he’d think about the toys she might not live to open. 

 

John had been sitting alone in the bedroom he was supposed to share with only his wife but more often than not his daughter had slept in the same bed with them her little body squished between theirs and snuffling in her sleep. He’d sat there in that silent room deep in disturbing thoughts until he heard Claudia scream for him, screaming for him to find her baby. 

 

Admittedly John had imagined the worst, much like he had done years later when his teenage daughter went missing under suspicious and worrisome conditions and she had yet to tell him the truth about who had taken her and who’d beat her blue an bloodied. 

 

When the Sheriff who stood awkwardly holding on to Claudia who continued her screaming told him that they’d caught the bastard that had taken John’s baby girl, head felt no relief for the man had been caught without John’s little girl anywhere insight all that told them she’d been in the old grey Ford was her winter coat and boots as well as the rest of her colorful outfit which she had chosen herself earlier that day; each item had been found in the back seat of the car even her wolf plush had been there but on the floor and each of those items had her initials G.S on them. 

 

Without hesitation or thought about comforting his distraught wife John left the house and drove straight to the station, he’d been determined to learn where the scum had left his daughter but all thoughts of simply begging for the information flew out the window the moment he caught sight of the man that had convinced his daughter to walk off with him, to trust him.

 

The similarity in their appearances had been shockingly similar, one might have easily mistaken the man as John’s older brother by six or so years, but the poorly disguised Texan accent was a clue that these two men with similar features were not of same blood or family as did the dark eyes that were cold and cruel as they smirked at John. 

 

`Now I see now why that sweet little thing called me daddy´ the rage that erupted within John at those words, spoken with a bemused smirk, was one John had never felt before and it erupted like a volcano and everything but that predator that had taken his daughter vanished from his world. 

 

John broke that face; a face he thought might have been the last one she saw before dying with strangers filthy hands squeezing the air out of her small throat. With thoughts of his little girl trusting this man who looked like him only to learn that the man was nothing more than a monster had fueled his anger, causing the pain he should have felt as his fists collided one by one over and over again as until that face beneath him was ruined.He did not hear the voices around him screaming for him to stop, because all he heard was his baby girl crying in pain and fear.

 

And with an idea that his little girl had been dumped, naked and broken, in some ditch at the side of the road like an empty can of soda, his raged exploded, and he’d pulled out his gun and pressed it against the man’s groin and screamed, `WHERE IS SHE?! TELL ME! ´

 

John knew then as he did now, as he would know to the day he died, that if he hadn’t been dragged forcefully off of the man called Clay Bush and if McCall hadn’t forced his gun out of his hands then John would have pulled the trigger regardless of whether or not Bush told him where to find his baby girl. 

 

His didn’t die down from being held by familiar arms or by the familiar and demanding voices that told him to calm the fuck down, his rage didn’t halt not even for a fraction of a second when he heard McCall’s nose break. He’s arms were been wrenched behind his back when a familiar small voice of the one person in the world he loved even more than he loved his wife cry out, `Daddy! I want my daddy.´ everyone and everything had stilled at that moment, standing there by the door leading out into the cold evening was his little girl wearing nothing but her underwear which were stained with dirt and blood, her hair was a mess twigs and leaves were sticking out here and there. 

 

It turned out that Clay Bush hadn’t managed to do much else than undress Stiles before she bit him hard right on his nose before kicking him several times in the face, thus stunning the man enough for her to slip through his hands and run. Being as small as she was, being as clever as she was, she’d found a place to hide and she’d been hiding there quietly crying until she was sure the bad man was gone. And once she dared to brave out of her little hiding place she began to make her way to the Sheriff Station.

 

Johns rage had died that night when he caught sight of his little girl who was dirty and cold, tears flowing down her adorable cheeks, but she was alive and that was all that matter. 

 

John Stilinski had never imagined once the blinding rage had subsided all those years ago that he would ever feel such an uncontrollable anger again, such blinding hatred towards another living breathing person ever again seemed impossible to experience more than once in a lifetime, he’d lived for years under the delusion that it had all been a momentary madness quickly brushed down beneath desks and cabinets of the sheriff’s station; Clay Bush’s claims of police brutality were ignored even if he had broken cheekbones, a broken jaw and nose, several teeth missing one of which had gotten stuck between two of Johns knuckles leaving a still visible scar. 

 

But once John heard that his daughter, his little girl, was pregnant with a twenty-something-werewolf’s baby, the destructive rage returned. He was suddenly once more full of that uncontrollable rage. It consumed him, numbing him to pain and discomfort, deafening him to familiar voices calling for him. 

 


	13. Crippled By Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes running to save a life, or three, could cause you to lose sight of the path you’d taken. Sometimes running with panic deep inside ones heart could cause only grief to be born.

 

 

There was a fear in him that seemed to grow with each beat of his heart, a fear of being too late because he’d ran to fast and missed one of the many now faded yellow ribbons that had been left behind to mark the way, the once so bright yellow color was now a ghostly pale color like the memories of times spent with Claudia Stilinski had become. 

 

_ `Why can’t I keep them mama? ´ Stiles asked as she held out the pretty little ribbons in her hand, there had been more of them but some she had tied in Scott’s hair while telling him how his hair was so soft that she wished she could be tiny like a pea so she could live in his hair, and Scott liked the idea of having Stiles living in his hair because then he would never be alone and she would always be there.  _

 

_ `Because then we might never find our secret place baby.´ Claudia had said while tying one of the ribbons on one of the tree branches that looked a lot like a clawed hand, like one of those horrible tree hands in Snow White or that very old Mickey Mouse movie they had watched yesterday while waiting for Mr. Stilinski to come home for dinner, but Scott wasn’t afraid these sharp wooden hands because he knew auntie Claudia would protect him from all the monsters that lived in the woods because she’d said so.  _

 

Scott was terrified he would miss one of those ribbons dangling from tree branches like the flags left behind by the fairies Claudia had told them stories about, or perhaps he’d miss a strange pile of rocks they’d built to mark the way or perhaps Scott would simply be too late because he just wasn’t fast enough.

 

Scott feared that he would be too late due to his own failings, if he was too late to save his mother or John then he would be proving his father right about him being nothing more than a weak little loser.

 

His heart ached at the thought of having to return to Stiles without her father alive, he’d already seen her break too many times, he couldn’t go on pretending that he wouldn’t be devastated if he had to watch his brave and strong sister shatter to a million pieces. Scott knew that even if he did somehow managed to glue her back together again she would still never be the same again, even if Scott would be there for her and even if he’d take care of her all his life Stiles would always remain broken.

 

Then there was that dreadful thought that Stiles would blame him for the loss of her father, and considering how she was already so very angry the possibility that she’d hate and resent him was there, Scott couldn’t imagine a life where his mother and Stiles weren’t around.

 

And what if he did save his mother but not Stiles’ father? 

 

All these detrimental thoughts pushed him to go faster, harder, to nearly run past the very place he had been running towards. If it wasn’t for Isaac yelling for him to stop then Scott would have continued running. If it hadn’t been for Isaac who had after a few bumps in the road fitted pretty nicely into Scott’s life then the he’d returned to Stiles with news of grief. ****

 

`Scott listen!´ Isaac barked before Scott could make his protest about pausing their chase, instead of demanding they continue on Scott mimicked the slight tilt of Isaac’s head and tried to listen to what Isaac was listening too. 

 

The earth did muffled the sound but it was none the less clear that someone, and that someone sounded a lot like a very angry Sheriff Stilinski, was yelling somewhere beneath their feet. 

 

`Isaac. You found them.´ Scott said feeling just a little bit less like having a panic attack, but the fear wouldn’t dissolve before all three parents were safe above ground, he couldn’t relax the slightest until they were all safe. 

 

`So, how do we get down there or get them out here? ´ Isaac asked while beginning to move around the area, head still tilted as h continued to listen to the noises coming from below their feet, looking around like he could stumble on the some hidden opening which coincidentally the beta did as he suddenly vanished from Scott sight accompanied by the loudness that came from earth moving into an unoccupied space.

 

`Dude! ´ Scott yelled as he rushed over to the hole in the ground.

 

`We are,´ Isaac coughed while trying to dust off dirt and cobwebs, `never again,´ Scott grimaced at the sight of a piece of broken wood sticking out from just above Isaac’s right hip, at least Scott hoped it was wood and not bone, `going anywhere without Stiles. You got that Scott. _Ever_.´ 

 

Scott carefully slid down the hole questioning why Isaac wanted Stiles to be attached to their hip during these kind of outings, Isaac didn’t hesitate to answer the question although he grimaced slightly while rising to his feet and yanking out the piece of wood sticking out from above his hip, `Because she’ll be the one doing the falling and finding.´ 

 

Scott couldn’t help the little smile that appeared on his lips when he realized that maybe Isaac did like Stiles just a little bit more than the werewolf was willing to admit. 

 

`Let’s just get mom and John, and Argent.´ Scott said as he started down the narrow passage, ignoring the roots that pulled at his hair and scratched at his exposed skin.

 

`John? ´ Isaac asked while stumbling behind him, his stance more crouched than Scott.

 

`Sheriff Stilinski.´ Scott replies while winching slightly at the loudness of the John’s voice and the anger behind it, there was also the frightful sound of the support beams groaning around them and Scott had to wonder if Claudia had been already a little bit less-sane when she allowed him and Stiles play in these tunnels. 

 

They moved through the rest of the tunnel in complete silence listening to the sounds around them, Scott had never liked moving through the two tunnels that all ended up in the same place, but while one took you above ground one had ended at a dead end and something about the uselessness of the tunnel had made younger-self a little bit anxious. 

 

Scott can hear Isaac mumbling about not wanting to be buried alive, and Scott knew that if their luck did end then there was a great possibility that Stiles would never hear from them ever again. And the amount of earth that continued to rain down on them Scott was beginning to wonder whether or not he should send Isaac back to the surface where the younger werewolf could keep an ear on Scott’s progress. 

 

Slipping into the small space where he and Stiles had once played in, where their initials were carved into old wood here and there, where the now broken pieces of Stiles little tea set crunched under Scott’s and Isaac’s feet, Scott was brought to a complete stop at the sight of the man who had rarely shown his anger openly around Scott; sure, frustration and anger fueled by fear had occurred due to various acts of stupidity on both Stiles and hispart, and Scott could only recall one moment when he’d seen John really angry and that was many years ago and back then John’s anger had been directed at Rafael and not at Scott or Stiles. 

 

_ It’s Scott’s sixth birthday, and he’s a big boy now, he knows that because Stiles’ said so. They’re not babies anymore no matter what Jackie says, even if they still like watching those old cartoons Claudia slips into the old VCR, just because Scott likes Glo Friends doesn’t make him a baby and neither does his favorite show the Care bears. It’s Scott’s birthday and he’s waiting for his dad to pick him up for ice-cream and a movie, just like he’d promised that morning, but he’s not really in a hurry to leave the Stilinski’s because Claudia had baked him a real cake from scratch and John kept giving him piggy-back rides around the house; and they had bought him his first fishing rod, and John had promised him they’d go fishing on Saturday because John had the day off.  _

 

_ Scott’s happy where he is, he really is, perhaps too happy because he doesn’t think twice about the changing in John’s and Claudia’s mood after John asks something about time, the words “he’s late” doesn’t bother Scott because he's splayed out on the Stilinski’s couch with Stiles running her fingers through his hair and their watching a Care Bears movie the one where they go to Wonderland, and Scott is very proud of the fact he knows the words to the Mad-Hatters hat song.  _

 

_ He must have dozed off because when he wakes-up he’s sleeping in Stiles bed, curled around his best friend and there are loud voices coming from downstairs which is strange because auntie Claudia and uncle John don’t fight like mommy and daddy do, and it makes his stomach feel funny but in a bad way the way it did when his daddy was angry at him and mommy.  _

 

_ Scott slips out of bed, and he isn’t too surprised to find out he’s wearing Stiles My Little Pony PJ’s because their almost the same size now, and he’s worn them plenty of times whenever he’s taken a nap at the Stilinski’s or slept over, he wears them because he likes them and because his favorite My Little Pony Characters are on it like Gusty and Sweet Stuff as well as his most favorite character Fizzy. Stiles also says the PJ’s are his although they are hers but she’s told him a lot of times she doesn’t wear them because what if they’re messy when he needs them.  _

 

_ Scott glances over at Stiles before wandering off down the hall, he held tightly to the stuffed Care Bear Stiles had gotten him it wasn’t Tender Heart but it was Wish Bear which was almost as cool as Tender Heart was.  _

 

_ He’s half-way down the hall when he recognizes his dad’s voice, and he’s already running down the stairs before he realizes that his dad is slurring his words and he comes to a quick stop, because when his dad is like this he gets really mean; and Scott doesn’t like it when his daddy is mean.  _

 

_ Scott doesn’t see it coming, doesn’t get a chance to run and hide before his dad grabs him by the neck and starts shaking him while asking him why he couldn’t be normal, why Scott had to be such a girl, and Scott can’t help it but he starts to cry because the hold his dad has off him hurts.But then he hears that horrible sound that always has his mother holding her cheek and crying, and Claudia has him in her arms and she’s bolting up the stairs, and Scott catches a glimpse of uncle John who is read in the face and he’s yelling at Scott’s dad who’s on the floor looking like he’d been struck by lightning. _

 

The crazed appearance of the same man who’d taken Scott fishing and who’d been to Scott’s Lacrosse games and cheered as loudly as Scott’s mom had, this man who been kind but strict as well looked absolutely rabid.Scott can hear Isaac shuffle nervously behind him, and Scott doesn’t think he’d believe himself if he said John wouldn’t hurt them because at that moment the man Scott had thought he knew was gone.

 

`Isaac, ´ he tried to keep the fear from his voice, but Scott knew from the tense posture Isaac was sporting that he’d failed at it miserably, `can you untie Mr. Argent and get him out of here.´ it really wasn’t a question, and Isaac didn’t tell him to do it himself unlike he usually did when Scott would ask him for something, `I’ll get mom.´ 

 

Isaac said nothing he simply moved towards the hunter, although Scott did hear the curly haired male begrudgingly mumble, `We should leave him here to rot. I don’t trust him.´ Scott would let the comment slip, but if Isaac intended to be in his pack or rather family, then the Beta had to live by Scott’s rules; and wasn’t that just a frightful thought, Scott was an Alpha, he was a real Alpha and he would be responsible for not only Isaac’s well-being but also Stiles and her baby. 

 

Scott shook his head pushing all the worries he had about being an Alpha out of his head, there would be a time for panicking about the fact that Stiles was his pack but the baby was Derek’s and Derek wasn’t pack; how would it work, would it cause a greater rift between them or would it help build some sort of a bridge between their packs?

 

Scott moved cautiously towards his mother, who was dangerously close to the enraged man. Scott had never worried about his mother’s safety when she was around John, but at that moment all he could do was worry because he’d seen Rafael hit his mother when he was angry and John looked deranged. His mom looks a bit rough around the edges but Scott can’t smell anything that would suggest that his mother was injured. 

 

`Scott, ´ his mom says sounding almost relieved to see him, there was even that loving smile there that she only ever shared with him and Stiles, but then something shifts behind her eyes and she looks at him with the same intensity she used when she _really_ needed him to do something; like the time he had to go with Claudia because his mother had to talk with his dad, and Scott didn’t understand why John was allowed to stay and he wasn’t. 

 

`Scott, you need to call Stiles.´ his mother tells him before he’s even close enough to cut the ropes holding her in place, `You need to call her Scott.´ 

 

`I will. I just need to…´ Scott starts to say but she’s not letting up with her demands, and when it’s clear he’s not about to do as he is told she turns to Isaac who is helping Chris up on his feet. 

 

`Isaac, honey, you need to try and call Stiles.´

 

`Why? ´ Isaac asks and Scott has to wonder why Isaac would even have Stiles number.

 

`Unless you want an enraged father raging at you and Scott, you really need tocall her.´ 

 

`Just call her.´ Chris snapped from where he was tied-up.

 

`He needs to hear Stiles’ voice.´ Scott hears his mother explain although John has started to scream in such an animalistic way that it makes Scott’s skin crawl and body flinch.Scott can see in his mother’s eyes that there was nothing else to do but obey her, to take her wisdom and hold it close and so he glances over his shoulder and says unnecessarily sharply to the Beta who stood at a touching distance from the father or Scott’s first and possibly only love.

 

`Isaac. Do it.´ 

 

Isaac obeys thankfully and Scott can focus on untying his mother. And as soon as the ropes are cut and on the floor Scott does the only thing that feels natural, he wraps his arms around her and just hugs her tightly.

 

`I’m alright. I’m here.´ he can hear his mother say while she held him tightly, and he knew she was as shaken-up by everything that had happened as he was. They had feared the worst and hoped for the best. 

 


	14. Your puppet I shall be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles couldn’t help but feel like she should just stop fighting, that she should just let whoever wanted to take over for her, make all of her choice for her so she could just slip into a state of emptiness.

Stiles couldn’t help the tears that were flowing or the way she felt like just giving up, and all that kept her from just agreeing to become nothing but a puppet on Derek’s or anyone else’s string was the firm hold Cora had of her hand.And wasn’t that just the strangest of things, having Cora there supporting her, and it did feel like that like the she-wolf wasn’t there for Derek but _her_ and that was just another thing on a long list of reasons behind Stiles’ tears; Cora Hale was the last person on earth she imagined to ever show her any kindness.

 

And if Stiles wasn’t so tiered, so worn down to her bones then maybe she would have questioned this newfound gentler side of Derek’s little sister, perhaps if she’d felt a little less dead inside maybe she would be slightly suspicious of Cora’s sudden burst of kindness.If anything Stiles should have thrown carefully shaped remark in the shape of witty sarcasm, but Stiles hadn’t been feeling like the person she had thought herself to be. Not since the few delicate minutes before finding Derek and Mrs. Blake had Stiles felt like herself, since that horrible second when she realized Derek wasn’t hers had  Stiles been feeling like she’d been dropped in a sinkhole and there was no getting out of it and where her heart had should be there was now only a shriveled up piece of something ugly and hollow;it was like ever since that horrible moment when she realized that there really wasn’t such a thing as everlasting love regardless of what Scott had claimed, something died within her and that something had made her who she had been.

 

Since experiencing the true meaning of heartbreak Stiles had felt her mind and body splinter every night and day she spent crying over someone who wasn’t even worth her tears, and since learning about the stupid mistake growing inside her body Stiles had been feeling an increase of hopelessness which had her fighting for air and the will to get out of bed; since learning about how stupid she was Stiles struggled to find the strength needed to even have a glass of water.

 

Stiles was tiered, so very tiered, and she knew once she was away from the prying eyes and hands touching her without her permission she would break down and possibly never rise again, for if her dad died she would have no reason to try and be strong; if her father died then Stiles would make sure she put a bullet through her head because that would ensure she stayed dead, wouldn’t it?

 

Stiles feels Cora urge her to sit up. Stiles knows she’s missed something very important because Deaton is seated on the floor looking rather pale and there is a stunned look on his usually so stoic face, and then there was creepy uncle-Peter who was all fangs and claws and he appeared less than human, and although it hurt to look at him Stiles did briefly gaze in the direction of one Derek Hale and she feels  just a little bit rattled by his appearance; Derek looked like someone had sucked the air right out of his body, drained his blood, and told him Christmas was cancelled for all-eternity.

 

Stiles had never been made to witness such a look of pure devastation on Derek, and for a minute or perhaps just a second she feels that familiar pull that demands her to go to him and comfort him, but this need to show compassion vanishes with the light touch of Cora’s hand against the slowly grotesque bump, that fleeting touch is all it takes to remind Stiles what the werewolf had done to her.

 

While helping Stiles off of the stainless steel table, supporting most of Stiles weight which Stiles takes full advantage of soaking in the warmth seeping out of the werewolf, Cora spoke softly to her saying just the right things to ease some of the tightness in Stiles chest, `I’m taking you to your house. Is that okay Stiles? ´

 

But Stiles doesn’t start crying or hugging the she-wolf not until Cora promises her that she’s going to stay with her, and it’s the fact that Cora even asks her if she’s okay with it that has Stiles sobbing against Cora’s shoulder because no one has really asked her if she’s okay with anything done to her. Stiles’ just can’t help it that her entire aching body turns towards Cora seeking comfort and support from the same person who’d called her a stupid and useless bitch.

 

Cora however doesn’t seem to mind Stiles hugging her, at least it seems to be okay because Cora wraps her own arms around Stiles and holds her tightly enough to cause Stiles to feel be it for a brief moment like she’s safe, and she soaks up that feeling as much as she does the pleasant warmth coming off of the werewolf.

 

`Stiles? ´ hearing Derek call her name like she’s breaking his heart while at the same time confusing him to no end, Stiles can hear him beginning to move towards her and it causes her to sob against his sisters shoulder; Stiles should be shocked by the fact that the same person who had threatened to punch her lights out more than once, and threatened to rip her throat out with her teeth.

 

`Stiles? ´

 

`Just leave her alone Derek.´ Cora growls and Stiles could swear Cora holds her just a smidge tighter, `Can’t you just leave her alone.´

 

`She’s having my baby Cora. And…´ Derek says, trying to reason with his sister but and Stiles finds herself holding on tighter to Cora and shaking her head because she just can’t deal with Derek right now.

 

`What? Does that make it alright to ignore what she wants? Does it make the way she feels none important? And what? ´ Cora hisses like a feline from hell, she was like one of those demented cats from My Cat From Hell, and if Stiles wasn’t sobbing the way she was then Stiles would have found the comparison hilarious, but as it was she continued to soak Cora’s shirt with her tears and snot; and there was no denying that she was indeed leaking from both her eyes and nose.

 

`That’s not true.´ Derek says quickly and equally quick his uncle growls out, `Don’t be ridiculous Cora.´

 

`I love her. And I do care.´ Derek starts but his answer is cut short by the loud ringing of Stiles phone, the sound is so startling that it causes Stiles to stop her crying immediately.

 

Her heart races several beats faster than what should be possible, it beats like the maddening force of a rainstorm because she knows that this call could be the one that decided her fate. Stiles pulls away from Cora who doesn’t try and stop her, perhaps understanding the possible importance of the call.  

 

She catches a quick glimpse of Derek who makes a move that would suggest he thinks she would take comfort in him, but Stiles has no such desires instead she shuffles towards her phone which stood amongst some of her other belongings. Her hand trembles as she picks up the phone, heart working overtime as she sees who is calling her.

 

`I – Isaac? ´ she’s absolutely terrified, because nothing good could come from Isaac calling her when it should obviously be Scott calling her. Isaac never calls her unless he needs her help with homework or if Scott needs her, and when she hears someone screaming bloody murder in the background her knees give in and she hits the floor hard and fast.

 

`Stiles,´ Isaac says sounding urgent and unnerved, and she just starts to shake allover and rock back and worth pressing the phone close to her ear, so hard that it hurts, and she starts wailing because her dads gone and she’s all alone and pregnant.

 

`Stiles? Stiles, you need to talk to him, he’s fuckinginsane Stiles.´ is all Isaac saysand she knows, how Scott must be feeling but all she can do is cry out, `No. No. No.´ familiar arms are wrapped around her, and someone none the less familiar, is lying to her that everything is going to be alright when it clearly isn’t going to be alright. And she screams for her dad.

 

**~*~**

 

The sound isn’t clear enough to confuse him to think she’s there but it’s enough to suffocate that dangerous anger that burns through his veins, it’s like the sound of his daughter screaming and crying like a wounded animal serves like a bucket of ice-cold water dumped over an intoxicated person, it clears his mind.

 

His daughter, his little girl needs him, needs him to calm her down before she’s overcome with another one of her dreadful panic attacks.

 

`Stiles? ´ his throat hurts much like it had done the first time he’d lost control of his temper, it wasn’t even slightly bemusing to know that both times he’d screamed his throat raw it was due to his daughter, `Baby?´ he continues to say hopefully loud enough for Stiles to hear him, `I’m here honey.´

 

John does notice how Isaac Lahey appears rather fearful of him, it makes the father and sheriff in him feel bad even if there was a moment not too long ago when John had been prepared to beat the shit out of Lahey and then run over the kid a few times with his car.The curly haired youth barely inched close enough for his phone to pick-up the words John is trying to exchange with his only daughter, the phone is barely close enough for him to hear the sounds of despair coming from Stiles who had always seemed so very strong compared to him;he was ashamed to admit that after Claudia died it had been Stiles who’d stepped-up to the plate, for several years John had been lost in his mourning unable to notice much else than his own pain.

 

`Stiles, baby, daddy’s here.´ and doesn’t those words just bring back memories of him kneeling on the filthy floor of the sheriff’s station clutching his little three year old daughter close enough to reassure both of them that the world hasn’t ruined them just yet. John remembers the way his daughter had felt in his arms back then when she’d been tiny enough for him to carry around for hours without really feeling it in his arms or his back.

 

`Daddy? ´ And dear God how small she sounds, how fragile, and John wishes he could just go through the phone and be there for his little girl, to hold her tight like he’d done every time he had thought he’d lost her or when he’d simply been terrified of what could have happened.

 

_`John.´ Claudia says, voice all imploring and he knows she will try and talk her way out of this, but there is no talking her way out of risking the life of his daughter and Scott McCall._

 

_`No.´ John snaps angrily while hoisting his little princes up onto his hip before doing the same with Scott who’s been standing to the side looking mighty worried that he’s in trouble, `You promised me you’d stop this doing this.´_

 

_He can tell his daughter is about to start crying by the way she rubs her nose against his shoulder, and the way she huffs just a little like she’s angry over the need to cry, and so he holds her just a little bit tighter hoping it would be enough to comfort her, `You promised not to do this again, you swore to me that you’d stopped bring them here again. You promised me you wouldn’t come here again.´_

 

_John couldn’t even look at his wife anymore because the chamber and the tunnels weren’t safe, his daughter and her best friend who stayed at their house almost enough to confuse anyone over the number of children they had, John could lose both of the kids because the roof caved in on them._

 

_`John, please, you are scaring the children.´ and sure enough both of the kids were crying now, Scott most likely because he and Claudia were arguing and his daughter because she knew it was because of her that John had learned that his wife had continued to take the little ones to this so called “magical place” located underground._

 

_`And you are scaring **me** Claudia! ´ John yelled, and it was the truth because Claudia was slowly becoming someone he couldn’t recognize, and not to mention all the times she went sleepwalking with their daughter in her arms, and while her stories had once been full of light and hope of late they had become darker and more frightening full of monsters chasing little girls and boys. _

 

_John held his daughter a little bit tighter because he knows what had been said would stay with Claudia and him, but he was afraid of his wife. He holds his daughter closer because she’s crying uncontrollably and John knows only one way of comforting his little girl._

 

_`I’m here baby girl. I’m here.´ he says as kisses the top of her head and just holds her._

 

John ignores the memories this place and his daughters desperate cries bring back and focuses on Stiles, he hasn’t done that enough in the past.

 

`It’s me baby girl.´ but all his words seem to do is break the last of the barrier that had been keeping Stiles from unraveling, because she suddenly crying like she’s been holding it all in for months, and maybe Stiles had been doing just that much like she had done with all of Claudia’s little secrets.

 

John turns sharply towards Scott and tells the boy who had slept in his house almost as much as he did in his own, `Untie me Scott. Right now.´

 

The kid who thankfully had grown-up more like his mother than his father pulled away from Melissa somewhat reluctantly and gave John a look that almost hurt the Sheriff’s heart, because there was something about the way Scott looked at him that made him feel like the boy who’d always seemed to have a heart of gold didn’t trust him entirely.

 

`Scott. Please. Untie me.´

 

Scott must have seen whatever it was he was looking for because soon the ropes that had been tied to him broke. He struggled to his feet, feeling a bit lightheaded but he was none the less very determined to leave the place he’d been prisoned in and where both Stiles and Scott had once played under the watchful eye of his wife. Before Isaac could stop him John snatched the young werewolf’s phone and did his best to calm down his sobbing daughter, but he knows words alone aren’t enough to calm Stiles.

 


	15. Hear My Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He loves her, he loves her dearly regardless of what she has said or done. She is his whole world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait again, my immune system failed me royally and I’ve been unable to do anything really, except for sleeping and having a few tests done, but for now I’m done with needles as shit and hopefully I’ll be able to avoid sick people from now on (fat chance that). But here’s the long awaited chapter. Hopefully you will enjoy some of it.

 

He can hear the horrendous screaming coming from the other end of the line, although if he’d still been an Alpha then Derek could have heard it all much clearer. Derek feels his heart skip a beat because he fears the worst of outcome has come to play, leaving Stiles fatherless.Derek had not wished this sort of grief upon Stiles’ sweet heart, and he wished he’d seen through the woman who’d slipped into his mind and bed before any damage could have been done to Stiles.

 

Derek senses more than sees the moment the strength needed to keep Stiles standing slips from her far too thin body, but although he sees, although all of them can see it coming none of them are fast enough to stop her knees from hitting the floor hard and unforgivingly.

 

He may not be fast enough to stop Stiles from hitting the floor, but he is however fast enough to be the one to wrap their arms around her and hold her tightly, and although Cora tells him to leave her alone he refuses because it is his duty to care and comfort Stiles. And perhaps he’d moved as quickly as he did because he _knew_ Cora would never allow him to so much as touch Stiles if she reached her first.

 

Derek caught her and he held her securely in his arms, settling both of them on the floor, ignoring Cora’s growls of protest. He can smell that horrendous stench of grief and despair coming off of the mother of his child, and it makes his wolf whine and whimper because it does not want its mate suffering so. 

 

Feeling Stiles in his arms, all pliant, the fight gone from her Derek gives in to his instincts and nuzzles gently against the back of her head while one of his hands wanders down to rest where he knows his son or daughter grows.Breathing in Stiles’ scent he tries his hardest to ignore the unpleasant stench attached to it now, he attempts to calm Stiles down with words of comfort and gentle promises of how things will be alright and how he would take care of her and the baby; of course Derek knows nothing will take away the pain of losing a parent but he’ll try and help Stiles to deal with it.

 

`No.´ Stiles cries shaking her head as she cried out the word of pure desperate refusal, and he pulls her body closer and his heart it aches with the desperation he feels coming off of Stiles who continues to repeat the little word of denial. But soon enough those cried out no’s are replaced by this scream that nearly shatters his eardrums, it continues on and on. Stiles no longer sounds human, she sounds more like a wounded animal than a teenage girl and Derek feels it in his bones.

 

`This can’t be good for the baby.´ Derek hears his uncle say through the horrible noise coming from his beautiful mate, and a part of Derek want’s to snap at his uncle to tell the man to shut-it, but his focus is on Stiles who continues to make sounds that makes him feel like he should wrap his body all-around her.

 

`Isn’t there something you could give her? ´ Peter asks without hesitation, both Cora and Derek growl in protest. There’s however a part in Derek that thinks that perhaps giving Stiles something to calm her down, if just a little wouldn’t be too bad. It’s obvious she’s doing herself more harm than good.

 

`I do have something.´ Deaton says rubbing the top of his hairless head with one of his hands, `It will not harm mother or child.´ but before the man can do much else Cora has him pinned against the hard wet floor his head makes a nauseating sound as it contacts with the floor. Cora looks absolutely feral as she pins Deaton to the floor with one hand while the other is raised and ready to strike at Peter who is taking a stance that would tell the dumbest of fools that he was prepared to attack. 

 

Derek is torn between stopping his uncle and sister and keeping his attention fully on his broken hearted mate, but before he can so much as make his choice there is a familiar voice calling out for Stiles and it takes a minute for Derek to recognize the voice of Sheriff Stilinski. 

 

A disbelieving although a happy laugh escapes Derek, and he kisses away one of Stiles tears while telling her that her father was alive, that Scott had saved him. But she continues to cry for her father awhile longer deafened by her grief.

 

Derek can’t stop smiling as he continues to hear the Sheriff calling out for Stiles, trying to calm her down as much as he’s trying, he’s overjoyed by the knowledge that Stiles hasn’t lost her dad. He’s thanking his usually so miserable luck for this little piece of mercy it has shown him.

 

`He’s alive Stiles, your dad’s alive.´ he whispers into her ear while she continues to cry for the father she’d thought she’d lost, and the Sheriff continues to try and calm her down. Derek can hear the deep worry and love the man feels for his daughter. 

 

The loud snarl that comes from the direction of his sister and uncle and he turns his attention back to them, growling loudly at the two of them, `Will you please stop. We’re not going to drug her Cora so just let the vet go and calm the fuck down.´ 

 

** ~*~ **

 

John feels like he’s going to be sick because he can still hear his daughter crying on the other end of the line, and he’s stuck in that’s not nearly big enough to fit all five of them, and he’s stomach turns with each little warning the phone gives that it’s battery is dangerously low. He’s afraid what would happen if the phone did die on him before he reached Deaton’s at least that’s where they think she’s still at, he’s afraid that once the phone dies that his daughter will fall prey to one of her panic attacks.

 

He’s so desperate to keep his daughter breathing that he’s completely willing to ignore the way Scott is speeding, and not just speeding he is driving so much over the lawful speeding limit that John has to wonder whether or not he should make sure that the kid he’d actually helped teach how to drive from ever driving again.

 

`I’m almost there baby? I promise you I’m almost there, just keep breathing for me.´ He knows none of what he’s saying is doing much good because she needs him to be there, to see him and touch until she realizes he’s real and not some desperate creation of her overly active mind, they’ve been here before; hell, even Scott knows this because the boy has probably spent more time with Stiles than John has. 

 

Melissa squeezes his hand with one of her bloodied ones. She’d stitched him up with the skillfulness of a person who’d spent hours and days patching up broken skin. Both he and Melissa had been shocked to find the well-stocked first-aid box that Isaac had pulled out of the Jeep his daughter drove, a Jeep that had once been his wife’s. ** ** Melissa had been shocked and surprised by the amount of supplies Stiles had in the box, mumbling words like, “all that missing from here is morphine” and “where the hell did she get her hands on a this?” while at the same time she looked absolutely proud and in awe of the his daughter. 

 

`Daddy? ´ Stiles chocked out, and he feels the sting of tears burning at the back of his eyelids as he tries to stay calm because he can tell his daughter is about to lose it and he’s not there to take care of her; and he knows this isn’t the first one and most likely it won’t be the last time he’s not there for her, but this time she’s all alone no Melissa or Scott to keep her from falling. 

 

`Baby we’re almost there. Scott is driving like a lunatic, so we’re almost there. Just keep breathing for me princess.´ John can hear the small snort coming from Isaac but he ignores it as much as he ignores the question the werewolf directs at Scott, `Princess?´

 

`Shut up.´ is all Scott says, but there’s no malice behind his words.

 

John keeps talking to his daughter until the phone dies. The sudden end has him screaming out the frustration he feels over the overall sense of uselessness he feels. 

 

`John.´ Melissa says squeezing his hand tighter, and he stops screaming but he does still demands Scott to drive faster even though John knows that the vehicle is already being pushed to its limit, he knows it from the way the engine screams the same way it had done when they got stuck in mud during one of their camping-trips years ago when Claudia was still alive and healthy or at least appeared healthy; Scott had started to cry thinking they’d be stuck in the woods forever, having to live off of pinecones and moss, but Stiles had hugged him and made promises John had to make sure were kept. 

 

`Are you alright?´ Melissa asks, stroking his arm gently the way she always did when trying to comfort or calm him down, the touch was familiar and pleasant even now when her question irritated him but unlike her ex-husband he was not about to snap at her for it. 

 

`She’s close to having a panic attack and I’m _not_ there.´ John says while trying to breathe out the anger in him, `She’s pregnant and scared and _I’m_ not there.´ Melissa squeezes his hand just a little bit tighter before cupping Johns face with one hand, and she hushes him gently.

 

`John, you’ll _be_ there for her as soon as you possibly can, and she knows it. She knows you’ll be there for her when she really needs you.´ her words are kind and pretty, but in the end they are just that pretty little words which might be as good as lies decorated in pearls. 

 


	16. We’re family come hell or high water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes your family grows without your say so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no Mama McCall and Papa Stilinski are arguing. I should say however, I felt at first so good about this chapter, like I was so proud of it, but then I showed it to one of my friends because I really thought she’d like it… which turned out to be a big mistake because she said it was dull and my attempts at making it sweet and cute weren’t working although I hadn’t planned on making anything sweet and cute. But yeah, so even though I thought it was good many of you might not, just heads up though I’m not changing it.

 

 

 

The very second the Jeep rattles to a tiered stop outside the familiar building John Stilinski barks for Isaac to get out of the vehicle which seemed to have become properly worn down by the rough handling Scott had given it.John however wasn’t at that point all too concerned with the possible amount of dollars he would be forced to spend on fixing any of the damage done to the Jeep Claudia had loved so dearly, all he cared about was reaching his daughter.

 

It takes everything in John not to lose it when he sees his soaked daughter on the floor. Stiles is not only soaked to the bone but also seated on the floor, and being held by Derek Hale, the sight makes his blood boil. 

 

Stiles sits there on the floor with Derek Hale’s arms locked around her, one of his hands resting on her stomach, and there was an almost catatonic appearance to her as she stared blankly down at the unresponsive phone. But John has seen catatonic people before and he knows Stiles isn’t one of them. 

 

`Now, I’m going to be all nice and civilized, at least for the time being, ´ John says struggling to keep his voice low enough so that Stiles doesn’t hear him, `even though I’m not entirely sure anyone of you deserve it considering the state my daughter is in.´ Derek Hale turned his gaze from Stiles and onto him and John feels his anger rise just a few notches. He wants to scream, rage and rant until he’s red in the face but John’s not an idiot, he knows this is not the time to startle Stiles; John needs to make sure his daughter is safe and sound before he acts on the rage bubbling beneath his skin.

 

`Oh and believe you me, I’m perfectly aware of the state my daughter is in and who is to blame for it.´ John can’t stop the murderous glare he shoots at the werewolf who’d slipped beneath his radar and used Stiles for his own pleasure; and John wants flay Derek alive and break every bone in his body, before crushing his bones into dust. Derek opens his mouth looking lost and John could swear that he can see guilt there, but whether or not Derek did feel guilty nothing changed.

 

`And I can tell you now Hale, ´ John hisses the last part, `We are far from done.´ there’s a silent threat there one he is sure the werewolf catches.

 

`John, may I call you John?´ the oldest Hale says while moving towards him wearing a patronizing smirk on his face, telling John immediately that this creature moving towards him thinks very little about his intelligence and it angers him even more; he may be just a small town sheriff to everyone, but John has had plenty of opportunities but all of them would have worn his family down, and at worst it would have separated his daughter from Scott McCall and John had never had the lack of heart to be so cruel. 

 

`No.´ John snaps, not trying to hide the way the knowledge of being looked down-on made him feel, `You may not refer to me as John, it’s Sheriff Stilinski to you.´ 

 

Peter attempts to hide the sense of loathing he feels towards him, and someone less observant would have been fooled by the supposedly sweet smile, but John sees through the smiles and soft look in the blue eyes to John it’s very clear that this man cares not for him;John Stilinski had seen enough of abusive liars and hateful bastards in his line of work to recognize one, he’d dealt with more than one sociopath and a few psychopaths to sense one out. 

 

Claudia had always laughed and said that he had an eye for evil beings, that he was blessed with a sixth sense that instead of showing him ghost revealed to him the wickedness of human beings. 

 

`Come now, John, we’re family now.´ the older werewolf says and it was most certainly not the right thing to say, but before John can bark out the response that should make it clear that he did not see his family becoming part of Peter’s Melissa McCall comes bursting through the door only to gasp out, `Oh my God.´ 

 

Melissa however didn’t remain still for long, perhaps only long enough for the gasp to escape. She rushed towards Stiles, snatching the grey blanket that sat neatly folded on the small counter by the door, while hissing furiously like a mother cat finding a threat near its offspring, `You’ve left her wearing wet clothes? What’s wrong with you? ´

 

Derek looks startled by the harshness of Melissa’s voice, the anger in it was perhaps completely alien to him but it was familiar to John for he’d witnessed it more than once during late nights when they spoke about how their kids were being mistreated by their teachers,John had seen the anger that had bloom within Melissa McCall when it had become clear that both Stiles and Scott were being bullied at school not only by their fellow students but also some of their teachers. 

 

`Let her go. Right now.´ there was no place to argue at least that was the way Melissa made it seem, and from the way Derek moved to obey her it was clear that werewolf sensed the wrath that would rain upon his head if he did not comply to Melissa’s ruling. 

 

A miserable look came upon the face of the beast that had deflowered his daughter, and John wasn’t a good enough of a man not to find some pleasure in the expression of pure unhappiness. Derek looked like a kid who’d just lost his favorite toy, like someone had ripped it from his hands and torn it to pieces right before his very eyes. 

 

`Oh honey your freezing.´ Melissa said softly before wrapping the blanket she’d grabbed around the trembling body.

 

`Mel?´ Stiles breathes out looking at the woman who’d never forgot a single one of her birthdays, who’d baked a cake for each and every one of Stiles’ birthdays since Claudia became too ill to do so. John was ashamed to admit it but without Melissa’s then he would have forgotten more than one of Stiles’ birthdays; hell, it was Melissa who always bought the right present for John to give to Stiles. 

 

John had to admit that he was in awe of Melissa McCall. And as he moved towards the woman who’d been his greatest support after Claudia was lost John began to realize that he really needed to start showing Melissa how much he did appreciate everything she had done and did for him and Stiles; and he also understood he needed to change the priorities in his life, he had to stop putting his job first simply because he was nervous about dealing with a teenage daughter, and maybe if he had been home a bit more then perhaps things could have been different. 

 

John shoots another glare at Derek as the werewolf makes a move to touch Stiles, and so did Melissa, it seemed to be enough to cause the werewolf to pull back a little.

 

John crouched down beside his daughter and it appeared to be enough to snap Stiles out of her unmoving state, and John tries to smile encouragingly at his daughter who looks so small and fragile, and it hurt him to see his baby girl in such a state.All he could think about was getting her daughter out of the animal clinic and away from the Hale’s.

 

`Let’s get you home. Okay sweetheart?´ John said trying hard not to let his worry and sorrow appear in his voice, `Come on baby girl, let’s take you home.´ With those words John makes a move to pick up his daughter but he’s immediately stopped by Melissa’s uncharacteristic flailing.

 

`Are you insane?´ Melissa barks at him her warm eyes wide with disbelief, `You are in no shape to even try and carry her John.´ He isn’t all that surprised by her knowledge of his planned form of action, they’d spent far too many years watching one another’s backs to not learn how the other thinks;and Melissa had watched him carry a sleeping Stiles from her living room floor to his car, and only four years ago he’d still been able to carry Melissa’s son as easily as he still did his own daughter.

 

`I’m fine.´ John protests even though he can feel the stitches pull at his side, but he ignores the unwanted sensation due to his own desire not to appear weak, he needed to be someone the Hale’s wouldn’t dare to cross; he needed to appear strong and dangerous in order to protect his daughter from further harm. 

 

`No. No you are not _fine_ John.´ Melissa hissed.

 

`You were stabbed John. I had to stitch you up thirty-or-so-minutes-ago in the middle of the freaking woods, you are not doing anything strenuous for the next couple of weeks or help me God I will handcuff you to your bed.´ Her words were unexpected and John stared at her in wonder for a minute, watching as a blush crept on her cheeks when Peter Hale decided to make an inappropriate comment.

 

`Now Scott, if I had known your mother had such kinky little desires…´ but his words were punched into a complete halt, the strike was hard enough to throw the werewolf off of his feet and onto the floor.

 

`Isaac.´ Melissa gasped, and John was able to turn his head just enough to look at the young werewolf who’d apparently done them all a favor and punched the obnoxious werewolf known as Peter Hale to the floor. **** There was anger in those young eyes and John recognized it as something that makes him trust the werewolf around Melissa and Scott, for he could tell from just one look that Isaac would never lay a harmful hand on Melissa but he would not hesitate to harm those who would harm her.

 

`I’m sorry.´ Isaac began but John was quick to step in to reassure the kid who looked like he expected to be yelled at that he’d done nothing wrong, `Don’t be,´ John said voice steady and calm, `he deserved it. Although you could have packed a little bit more force behind that punch.´ Isaac looked startled at first but then he suddenly looked rather bashful. 

 

The loud growl from the floor was interrupted by an equally fierce growl from the corner of the room where none other than Cora Hale stood, John hadn’t noticed her not until she made that deep rumbling sound which no human could create. Uncle and niece continued to communicate in growls and snarls, eyes locked. 

 

John felt a hand on his and when he turned to gaze at it he felt warmth spread through his aching body, for he could tell by just that single touch he had just done something that Melissa appreciated, and although he did not know what exactly he’d done it made him feel a little less tired and old. 

 

`Let’s get Stiles home.´ Melissa says softly and John simply nods while already missing the light touch of Melissa’s hand. 

 

`Scott, could you please…´ John begins because he can hear the boy who’d asked him to teach him how to shave at the age of ten because Scott had been 100% sure he would start growing facial hair within a week move about beside him, that little boy had grown into a young man before his eyes as well as become something John had never thought to be real. 

 

`I can do it. Let me do it.´ John’s entire body tenses up at the almost pleading, hopeful, voice of Derek Hale, and he nearly punches the werewolf when it moves towards his daughter but he restrains from such an action and instead just growls at him, `You are not going anywhere near my daughter.´ Derek pauses his slow crawl, and looks at him like John had suddenly ripped out his bloody heart. 

 

`Scott.´ John barks and the boy is there in an instant, picking his daughter up like she was something precious and fragile, and perhaps to the both of them and Melissa she was just that. 

 

John regrets ever thinking his daughter was strong enough to deal with the world around her alone, he feels guilty for nearly leaving his daughter to deal with everything on her own, John feels absolutely horrified by the knowledge of how close he was to leaving his daughter in the hands of Derek Hale and his deranged uncle, he feels ashamed for nearly giving Stiles up simply because he’d been tired and low in spirits. And this was hardly his John’s first time thinking about leaving his daughter alone in the world, but this had been the closest he’d become to truly walkout on his baby girl. 

 

Watching his daughter settle in the arms of Scott McCall, a sleepy sigh escaping from her slightly parted lips as she settled her head on the shoulder of the boy John had in the past carried around on his own shoulders, John begins to wonder when Stiles had started painting her toenails again considering she’d stopped doing it after her mother passed; he also questions how he’d never noticed how thin Stiles had become, which made him worry if his daughter ever truly had a proper meal when he wasn’t around.

 

John knows he’d neglected his duties as a parent for far too long, he knows he neglected his only child for the sake of work. **** But John Stilinski swears as he stands up that he will make sure that he’ll turn a new leaf in his life, **** he would focus more on those he loves and cares for and not the job he’d glued his mind and body too long before Claudia died. ****

 

Derek stays on the floor, eyes wide and pleading while Scott moves towards the exit carrying Stiles who nuzzles against the shoulder of the boy who’d become the sibling John and Claudia hadn’t been unable to give her, Stiles murmurs something which John can’t hear but has Scott smiling lovingly down at her while saying, `I couldn’t let you down now could I? ´ 

 

Isaac moves to hold the door open for them as they move. And John catches Stiles sigh sleepily, `You’d never do that Scotty. You’ll take your time, but you’d never do that.´

 

** ~*~ **

 

Cora stood silently in the corner that gave her a perfect view of those within the room, she stood there prepared to launch at anyone of the other males if they did anything that would break against Stiles’ autonomy. 

 

There was certainly room to argue about how much Cora did actually respect Stiles’ right to rule over her body and what was done to it, she held no illusions that allowing her brother to hold Stiles while they waited for the arrival of Sheriff Stilinski and Scott McCall was a slight if not an enormous insult against Stiles’ bodily rights;but Cora would make a plea that while Derek had his arms around Stiles who had been maneuvered to sit on his lap thus giving him easy access to nuzzle her neck and stroke the shelter that held his child, it was the lesser of several even less desirable situations the human female could be made to endure. 

 

However if Stiles startled out of her unmoving state and if her silent whimpers for her father and the cascade of tears were replaced with screams demanding freedom from Derek then Cora would bounce on her brother like their great-aunt Alma’s cat Valkyrie, if Stiles gave her any sign she was against Derek’s attempts at comfort her then Cora would rip Derek off of the girl. But for now Cora was focused on keeping an eye on Deaton and Peter, searching for any sign that either one would attempt take control over Stiles and her body and the rights of both. The way Deaton was hovering nearby while her uncle continued to try and convince Derek that subduing Stiles with some concoction was for the best, making such outlandish accusations as it would be beneficial for Stiles and the baby to be drugged in some form, it was all enough to keep Cora on the edge never really relaxing her stance. ****

 

Cora doesn’t so much as shift her weight from one foot to another when the Sheriff bursts into the room reeking of earth and blood, the old magic causes her nose to itch but she does nothing to ease the discomfort for she knows not to draw attention when someone reeks of anger, fear and deep rooted guilt; Cora’s not about to become a target of his anger, Derek and the others could take all of it.

 

Cora listens to the meaningless little speech the Sheriff gave them, rolling her eyes as Peter made a weak move to either undermine the Sheriff’s statues or to draw him into their fold but if anything the anger boiling beneath the seemingly calm human increased.Cora watched with a degree of fascination as Melissa McCall came into the room flanked by not only her son but also Derek’s former beta and one hunter. Seeing Chris Argent made the she-wolf lose a little of her control, she couldn’t stop the way her blunt teeth became a great deal sharper or how her fingernails became claw-like; she did not care for a single Argent, and she did not trust them around herself of Stiles who was now carrying a Hale within her womb.

 

McCall’s mother rushes over to where Stiles was being held and Cora feels a little bit ashamed that she hadn’t thought about wrapping Stiles up in several blankets when the mistake was made known.

 

Something about Melissa scent reminded Cora of her own mother, it was a scent her father had once called motherly love, and it only appeared when the mother was said to be around her pups. 

 

Cora watched as Melissa took control of the situation.

 

Cora watched with a deep sense of satisfaction how her obnoxious uncle was punched in the face by one Isaac Lahey which was a surprise to say the least, and seeing the sudden act of violence awakened an interest within her; Cora had viewed the bitten wolf as nothing more than a weakling, she’d seen him as someone who continued to pretend to be all strong and capable while being nothing more than a weak little pup, but seeing Isaac grow a spine and defend the honor of someone who did deserve as much.There was just something rather appealing about seeing the fair-haired werewolf show some spine and honor, it made her feel something unfamiliar bloom inside her chest and it was just enough to have her growl in warning at Peter who seemed well prepared to make the younger werewolf bleed as he had made him do with one swift strike; her warning made Peter look at her with a raised eyebrow but she doesn’t care what his twisted mind imagined. 

 

Cora might not care about her uncle but she does care about Stiles, she cares enough to understand that the best place for the now pregnant teenager wasn’t with Derek at least not until Stiles was ready for it, the clinic was also the wrong place for Stiles to stay at; and so Cora Hale doesn’t attempt to stop the humans from taking Stiles away, she doesn’t growl at Scott as he picks-up his best friend who murmurs out the following words. 

 

`You found my dad, you found them, thank you.´

 

Derek whines as the McCall’s and Stilinski’s take their leave followed closely by Isaac who spares a sad little look at Cora’s brother who remains where he’d been left, and Cora does feels a great deal for her brother after all she did love him in her own way but she couldn’t ignore the damage Derek had done to Stiles; one could not simply ignore the fact that Derek had possibly ruined a great deal of Stiles and the future she had planned for herself. 

 

Cora wishes she could offer comfort her brother but she fears what that would do to her resolve, and then of course she could not yet give-up her guard for the hunter remained and she would never trust one of the Argents.

 

Chris Argent who didn’t look all that pleased with any of them, and although the man was unarmed Cora knew to be wary of the hunter; she’d come across one too many of them to not be cautious. 

 

`Just a small warning to you Hale’s, ´ the hunter said and Cora might have shifted just a little at the incoming threat, `I will be supplying the Sheriff with bullets that will kill you.´Unlike Cora who saw nothing wrong with the idea that the Sheriff would from now on walk around with bullets that could actually bring all of them down, but although Cora might think that arming the Sheriff for once with bullets that would stop a raging werewolf she sensed the fear and worry coming off of her brother the moment the hunter informed them of what was to be.Peter scent became something sour, and the low grow was enough to tell her that her uncle was not at all happy with the prospect of Sheriff Stilinski finally being capable of hurting and killing them like the hunters could, but Cora didn’t care how Peter felt all she wished was for Stiles father to be a little bit safer and if giving him bullets that could render Peter useless then Cora was all for it; anything to level the playing field a little bit more was all good in her opinion for she feared without it Peter would not hesitate to take Stiles from her house and home.And yet, Cora couldn’t shake the feeling that regardless of the Sheriff’s firepower or Argent’s threats her uncle would not be deterred in his desire to force Stiles into their family; Cora understood the pull of family and she struggled against the want to see Stiles accept them as well as the child she carried as family, she wanted to hold her niece or nephew, but she fought against the chains pulling at her heart and wolf for the sake of respecting and honoring Stiles right’s to choose what was to be done with her own body.

 

`I suggest you respect the Stilinski’s wishes fro, now on, ´ Argent said voice before beginning to take his leave, but the hunter did not turn his back on them for the man was far too clever to do such a dangerous mistake, instead he backed away out of the room eyes locked on the greater threat of the three Hales, `I’d hate to see the last of the Hale’s gone.´ 

 

`Like you wouldn’t love to finish the job your father and sister started.´ Peter snarls eyes glowing and dangerously sharp teeth were out and ready to bite, but regardless of how fierce Peter may have appeared the hunter did not carry a hint of fear in his scent and instead of taking the bait Argent gave a sharp glare before speaking more to Derek than anyone else in the room.

 

`I’ll expect you to respect any choice Stiles Stilinski may make, and if you try and force her to do _anything_ , ´ the threat was coming and Cora felt herself tense, `I will come for your hide. Understood? ´ 

 


	17. Cold water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> `You don’t hurt the people you love, do you? ´

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about how short this is, but that’s just how it goes I guess.

John is exhausted. 

 

He’s deeply grieved by the uncontrollable crying that his daughter had started as soon as they slipped back into their house it was as if placing Stiles on the same couch off of which she’d fallen at the age of five and broke her wrist flipped a switch within her, she started to cry uncontrollably and apologizing between gasps for air much like she had done back then when she was five years old with pigtails and with a deep love for My Little Pony’s and Care bears as well as Batman and becoming the first female ballerina/sheriff of Beacon Hills who drove around in the Batmobile. 

 

John felt like he was a hundred years old as he walked into the bathroom Claudia and he had tried to keep as theirs and their alone, but of course with a daughter like theirs _that_ was never going to happen, there were colorful stickers stuck to the tiles and doors as well as on the mirror above the sink and sitting on the toilet gave one a perfect view of prancing colorful pony’s as well as Winnie the Pooh and his merry little friends.

 

He’d done his best to try and comfort his teenage daughter, his pregnant teenage daughter no less but John had struggled with reassuring his only child who might have been forced to grow-up far too quickly once her mother had started to slip away from reality. John knew that asking a six year old to keep an eye on her mommy wasn’t the right thing to do and neither had his request for said seven year old to help mommy around the house because Claudia just wasn’t up to it anymore, John knew he’d forced his daughter to be a big girl before she was truly ready for it; by God at the age of eight his little girl already knew how to do laundry and cook as well as taking care of the bills that continued to come regardless of the grief the Stilinski family were suffering. 

 

John had allowed his daughter’s innocence to fade away when he chose to drink away the pain and sorrow Claudia’s suffering caused him, he knew he was to blame for Stiles forfeiting a great deal of her childhood because he’d focused more on his work instead of the little girl who lost her mother even before Claudia died.

 

There were many different reasons for John’s behavior towards his daughter, one of which was his own selfishness. It was difficult to look at Stiles regardless of her age because she’d been blessed with her mother’s beauty it was painful to look at his daughter because she was a painful reminder of what John had lost. Andhe wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was constantly fearful that not only had his daughter inherited her mother’s looks but also the decease that hadwreaked havoc on Claudia’s mind. At night during silent hours before his mind was clouded by alcohol cruel voices inside his head would taunt him.

 

_ She’ll turn out like her mother.  _

 

_ She has the same fire in her veins as her mother and will burnout quickly. _

 

_ You’ll see she’ll be locked away in a small room, drugged into a controllable shell of nothing.  _

 

John had always feared more than anything else that he’d be forced to witness his only child come undone like Claudia had, but now as he was made to deal with the fact that his daughter was pregnant with a child that could probably be some sort of a monster. And there was this ongoing image floating around inside his head where this thing bursts through Stiles stomach at some point during the pregnancy, killing Stiles in the process. Sure, John didn’t really think the werewolf baby would do such a thing. But he was still afraid of the unknown. 

 

John closes the bathroom door behind him, trusting his daughter with Melissa for the time it takes for him to wash away the dirt latched to his skin and hair. He could wash all the grime off of him but there was now relief from the fact that his daughter had cried and apologized to him again and again once she’d realized they were home and safe, it had taken him what felt like forever and two panic attacks later before Stiles calmed down enough to grant him the time needed to wash some of his misery away. 

 

John had been going back and forth between burning anger and deep rooted sadness that came with the knowledge that his daughter was suffering more than he could truly comprehend. There was something about being utterly at a loss that was incredibly exhausting, John wanted to fix things but he had no idea of how to make things better.

 

He hated leaving Stiles who had calmed down a little bit with Melissa but he really needed a shower, and the levelheaded woman who’d helped him raise Stiles might just be what his daughter needed at the moment because it sure as hell wasn’t him. 

 

Tired to the bone and feeling filthy John undressed in the familiar bathroom that still screamed of Claudia’s taste colorful taste, dumping the bloodied cloths in the once empty trashcan which still wore the battle scars Claudia had caused it when she’d used it as a weapon during one of her breakdowns, although the item held such bad memories it was also the same can in which he’d found the positive pregnancy test that had announced the arrival of their only child. He knew he should remodel, remove traces of Claudia and a past he missed but needed to move on from, but it was easier said than done. ****

 

Carefully he cleaned his skin around the wound before covering it up there was no point in washing in the dirt from the rest of his body into the wound that had hastily been stitched-up in the light of the very same vehicle where he’d kissed Claudia for the first time. Turning on the shower John prayed that there would be just enough hot water to ease the tightness in his muscles and cleanse his skin and hair from the dirt and grime latched to his person, but of course there was little hope for such a miracle after the shower Melissa had taken and the bath they’d prepared for Stiles who truly needed a warm bath more than he needed a hot shower. ****

 

The temperature of the water turned out to be lukewarm at best but honestly he didn’t mind it, he felt filthy and just needed to feel less like the mess he was.

 

John Stilinski stood beneath the spray of ever cooling water until it was too cold for him to handle, his thoughts drifting between what he wanted to do and what he probably should do and the uselessness he was feeling because he honestly had no clue on what he was supposed to do. He was sure Claudia would have known what to do in a situation like this, and she wouldn’t have been left feeling a heavy sense of disappointment unlike him. He knows that this disappointment directed towards his daughter wasn’t right, but regardless of what he knew John still felt the unreasonable sense of unhappiness with his daughter whom he’d thought old enough and bright enough to not become just another pregnant teen; he’d expected more from his only child. 

 

He’d thought that Stiles would wait until she was settled in a long-term relationship with _someone_ who was close to her own age, he’d expected this _someone_ to be a respectable individual whom John could have shared a beer with and frankly the sheriff had expected this _someone_ to at least be human.

 

He’d expected her to know to use protection, and to honor the rules he had set to her when it came to dating; and she hadn’t even been dating Derek Hale, not at least in his own opinion because if she had been the werewolf should have been over for dinner so John could threaten the man into keeping his dick locked away until Stiles was of age. John was disappointed with Stiles and hated himself for it. 

 

Resting his head against the tiles Claudia had picked-out without his input, the yellow was rather a nauseating color to him even on the best of days and now he really just wanted to find a sledgehammer and beat them all to dust and pieces, releasing all the displeasing emotions he was experiencing into a sledgehammer. John could still hear his daughter crying out the words, `I want it gone. I want it gone.´ It was his grandchild, Claudia’s grandchild, and a very small part of him felt a sadness over the idea that the little life was so unwanted because John had always thought and hoped that on the day his daughter learned she was pregnant (which should have happened no earlier than in her mid-twenties and no later than in her early thirties) it would be a joyous affair, he’d hoped she’d spring the news that he was about to become a granddad in a pure Stiles-fashion which would be something ridiculously funny and sweat. John had really thought that when Stiles would tell him he was pregnant it would be a cause for a celebration, that he’d be spreading the news around like a merry grandfather to be was allowed too. 

 

This was however not a joys moment, this was not a pregnancy he wanted to announce to the world. This was a miserable mistake that had his daughter in tears. 

 

With the water becoming too cold for his body to handle John cut his shower short feeling not all that clean, toweling his aching body quickly before wrapping in around his waist, and removing the short term protection that covered the wound that would always remind him of how close he’d come to losing his life and daughter.With a towel around his waist he made his way into the bedroom that like everything else in the house was laced with Claudia’s touch, and he’d began to think that perhaps he really should stop living in this museum of Claudia Stilinski but thinking it and doing it was a completely different thing, and John wasn’t sure he could find enough strength to deal with Stiles troubles and changing at least two of the rooms in the house into something that fit well with who he was; even removing her dresser and the full-body-length mirror that stood in the corner of the room where the light had according to Claudia been flattering, seemed like a battle of will and a great climb up a hill that was covered with slippery grass and thick mud. 

 

Grabbing a change of clothes John began to dress his shivering body, the old pair of sweats and the even older BHPD t-shirt would serve him well for now, it was late and he suspected he’d be fast asleep on either the couch or on his bed in a few hours. He yawns loudly before slipping out of his bedroom. He can hear Melissa and Stiles in the bathroom down the hall, Melissa still reassuring Stiles that he’s not mad at her but John has a feeling his daughter won’t believe he’s not mad at her because that’s just the way his daughter was; and he knew she’d probably sense his disappointment as well. 

 

`I thought he loved me.´ he hears his daughter say while sounding so remorseful that it causes him to sway a little on his feet, there’s a tightness in his chest that causes him to gasp. 

 

`He said,´ Stiles whispers and if he wasn’t standing right there behind the door that was left ajar then Joh might have missed the words spoken, `he said he loved me.´ John swears that he feels his daughters pain, because the amount of sadness he feels can’t be just his own. John had never wanted this misery for his daughter who’d already suffered too much. 

 

`But you don’t hurt the people you love, do you? ´ Stiles asked with such sorrow in her voice that it nearly brings tears to his eyes, and John knows the answer to this question as does Melissa who isn’t as objective as she perhaps would like to be he knows this by the anger he’d seen in her beautiful eyes while she glared at Derek Hale. 

 

`No sweetheart, you don’t. ´ And that has his daughter in tears and with a pitiful sob his daughter spoke the words that sealed Derek Hale’s fate, `I loved him. I really…´ but the rest of it goes unheard as John walks straight back into his bedroom, unlocks the small safe in the closet which still held a great assortment of Claudia’s clothes, he loads the handgun easily even though his entire body is vibrating with deep rooted anger; he knows where the Hale kid lives, he knows the bullets will not kill the bastard but they will hurt, he knows all of this and more. 

 

John walks with firm steps out of the bedroom that held pleasant as well as unpleasant memories of his wife, and he’s nearly by the stairs when the bathroom door opens and he makes the mistake of turning around to look at his daughter. Stiles is wrapped-up in the bathrobe he’d bought her last Christmas, and he’s startled by the broken look in her eyes as she gazes up at him, the itch to leave is there but as soon as she whimpers his name he steps away from the stairs and places the gun on the small table in the corner and walks briskly towards his once more crying daughter; he wants to make Hale pay for what he’s done, but he needs to stay with his daughter more than he needs to seek revenge.

 


	18. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’ve grown into a strange little family. A family that didn’t live under the same roof, but they were none the less a family, and she loved her little family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn I know it’s short, but so is life.

 

Melissa had never been fond of guns, she’d seen what they could do to their victim she’d witnessed one of her cousin die from what could only be called a stray bullet while still in high schoolhe’d died right before her very eyes, and yet Melissa had married a man who’d brought guns into her house and home. Melissa had always disliked having a gun in her house and she’d been incredibly nervous about having her son grow-up in a house with a single gun, she’d fumed every time Rafael cleaned his gun in front of their son and talking about the power it held like the power to kill was something admirable and desirable. Melisa hated guns and that her only son stayed over at a house with several guns and John Stilinski owned several firearms, and even though John kept each of them under lock and key it had always made her feel slightly uneasy knowing that her son and the girl who was born far too curious for her own good were so close to those dangerous weapons of death and destruction.

 

But what had truly made her loathe any form of firearm and the fact that John Stilinski had one too many guns in his house was when Stiles at the age of ten confessed to Melissa how absolutely terrified she was of finding her dad dead after returning home from school or from just Melissa’s and Scott’s, it was hearing a ten year old girl who’s eyes were read while the skin beneath them were heavy with dark tell her how she didn’t dare to sleep in her own room at night or sleep at all for the fear of waking-upto a gun going off in the next room or down-stairs; of course Melissa McCall hadimmediately and without hesitation or cautiousness confronted John with his daughters nearly crippling fears,it had been on that day the severity of John’s drinking became clear to Melissa. 

 

Melissa hated guns her weapon of choice was a baseball bat. And if Stiles’ liking of the same weaponry as Melissa warmed her heart who could blame her. 

 

However much Melissa McCall disliked guns or the amount of firearms John held in his possession, but there was no denying that seeing him standing there gun in hand ready to avenge their Stiles’ honor did humiliating things to her and her principals; the firearm which the freshly showered man whom Melissa knew would do anything to protect Scott and Stiles and undoubted her wasn’t the standard issued one John carried around during the work hours.

 

She gave the gun a brief glance before focusing her attention on John who looked torn between going and staying and Melissa wasn’t sure which she wanted him to do. 

 

Melissa continued to keep her hold on the girl who’d been crying for far too long, she continued to rub the bony arms of the girl who’d spent too long apologizing for something Melissa would never judge her unkindly for, she continued to support the clever girl who’d come to question her own intelligence since gaining some of her senses.Melissa had bathed Stiles warm and clean, and dressed her in the bathrobe that was still a little bit too big for Stiles lean frame but which was soft to the touch.

 

The mother in Melissa McCall refused to leave Stiles’ side at least not until she was sure the girl she’d watched help her son with his homework for years and years would be alright.There was no doubt that John would allow her to stay for as long as Melissa was needed, John wouldn’t force her to leave not until it was safe to do so and she knew this for Melissa had seen the lost and sorrowful look in the familiar eyes of the man that unlike her ex-husband had encourage Scott to try things even when there was a possibility of failure and who never blamed Scott for not being successful in his endeavors; and every time Scott hadn’t succeeded in something John had clapped his hand down on his shoulder or placed at the of Scott’s neck while looking straight into Scott’s tearful eyes and spoke words that were not meant to bring Scott down in any shape or form.

 

_ `You did well, son.´ Melissa heard John say voice firm but there was no anger there only reassurance. _

 

_ Scott shook his little head while Melissa hurried towards her son carrying the first-aid kit and his inhaler.  _

 

_ If it had been Rafael standing there in front of her son, or rather crouched low in front of her son the way John was she would have felt tense with the uncertainty of what the Rafael would say or do to their son; but it was John Stilinski who’d been there teaching Scott how to ride his bike, who’d witness his fall, and the knowledge made her feel a little bit less like pulling Scott to her.  _

 

_ `B-but I fell. I-I couldn’t…´ then a loud sob broke out of her little boy who’d scraped his chin and knees as well as an elbow, but John didn’t snap at him for the tears escaping his brown eyes or shaking him hard while telling her son to stop being such a baby instead John pulled her son into a hug. The sight, the confirmation of what she’d suspected about John’s nature to be true had her pausing for a moment; she had faith in John, but she still worried he’d judge Scott harshly for his gentle heart. _

 

_ `Were you afraid? ´ John enquired gently, and Scott gave his answer with a short nod while sinking comfortably into the hug little hands clutching at the sides of the ugly brown shirt of John’s uniform, it had been years since she’d seen Scott hug his own father or being hugged by Rafael without being tense and it caused her envious of Claudia’s marriage and husband.  _

 

_ John smiles softly down at the boy like her son had done something as amazing as curing Dementia.  _

 

_ `You were afraid to try something, and yet you gave it a go.´ John said all smiles while using the sleeve of his shirt to dry Scott’s tears and snot away which made Melissa cringe because John had to head to work in a few minutes with tears and snot now dirtying his uniform as well as Scott’s blood. _

 

_ Scott paused his crying, and seemed to think about the words said.  _

 

_ Melissa could hear Stiles slowly paddling her bike back towards where Scott and her dad were standing, and she gave the girl a quick glance noting the worried look on her young face when she realized Scott had fallen off of his bike. _

 

_ `Yeah?´ Scott answered cautiously, probably expecting the deputy who worked with his dad to say something mean or tell him how stupid he was for trying something he was bound to fail at.  _

 

_ `Well then, ´ John said his voice full of something that made Melissa heart flutter, `then you did good son, because doing something you’re afraid to do takes a great deal of courage.´ _

 

_ `You are such a brave boy Scott, I’m so very proud of you.´ John Stilinski told her son and Melissa felt her eyes begin to tear-up because of how much those words meant to her, and how much they made Scott beam.  _

 

Melissa wasn’t aware she’d been holding her breath while she stood between the bathroom and Stiles bedroom not until John made his mind-up and abandoned the handgun and proceeded towards her and Stiles. There was no helping the way her heart trembled as the man who regardless of his own failures and angers always seemed to try his hardest to do what was best for his child as well as Melissa and Scott, he’d helped her out in more ways than one much like she had him, she felt so very proud of him and thankful for the way he was able to abandon his own wants for the sake of a girl she loved like a daughter;and to hide the tears which were a mixture of sadness and joy, pride and pain, Melissa planted a soft kiss at the top of Stiles head while guiding the now surprisingly frail girl into her bedroom.

 

Derek Hale had hurt their girl and it was now Melissa’s and John’s job to help her mend, to bring back the firecracker she’d been. They would start out small, they would start with getting her to bed and making sure she got the rest her exhausted body needed. John focused on making Stiles bed as comfortable as possible for her, changing the sheets and puffing the pillows while Melissa dressed the girl who stayed silent throughout the ordeal.

 

Melissa dressed Stiles in a pair ofpajama-bottoms that felt like they would be comfortable and in a t-shirt Melissa recognized as one of Scott’s old-ones, it was one from a time before werewolves became a thing in their lives. Melissa wasn’t the slightest bit surprised to find several of Scott’s shirts in Stiles possession, if anything it seemed only natural that Scott would give her the ones that no longer fit him or for Stiles to take them during a moment of helping Melissa keep the mount of laundry at her house at a low. It dawned on Melissa suddenly how much Stiles had become a part of her family or rather how much like a real and proper family they were due to the way each of them helped each other in different ways, if anything should have long ago made her aware of how close they were to a family it should’ve been the way she and John had more than once while sharing a cup of coffee conversed about how they needed to keep united front when it came to the kids and how they always seemed to say _our kids_ while talking about Stiles and Scott.

 

The four of them had become a family somewhere between Claudia’s illness and Rafael leaving. 

 

_ Hopefully four will become five,  _ a small cautiously hopeful voice that reminded Melissa of Isaac whispered at the back of her mind, and if the thought of John taking Isaac under his wing and Isaac accepting his care as easily as he had accepted hers made something warm settle inside her who could blame her? 

 

Melissa had always wanted a large family but Rafael had barely tolerated one child leaving Melissa to forsake her wants and desires, and perhaps her heart had therefor adopted Stiles as her child and why she was so willing to take Isaac under her care. 

 

`Let’s get you to bed, okay princess.´ Melissa’s thoughts were caught, snapped, severed by John who’d appeared beside her and Stiles, and Melissa hadn’t been aware that she’d started to brush Stiles hair. 

 

It wasn’t a struggle to get Stiles into bed but the moment John and she made a move to leave Stiles grabbed them both by their hands and looked imploringly at them, and Melissa didn’t need to hear the words or feel the way the tearful girl tugged at her arm to tell her what Stiles needed from her and neither did John, and so not for the first time Melissa McCall and John Stilinski laid down on a bedtheir bodies creating a protecting walls to shelter the back and front of a child needing comfort; sure in the past Scott had been there as well and the bed had been one at a motel or the one at Melissa’s house. 

 

Without thinking or discussion of how to settle on the bed that wasn’t big enough for three people to sleep on comfortably they settled down, Stiles facing her father while cradling Melissa’s hand against her chest both of her delicate hands holding Melissa’s like it was a stuffed-toy, Melissa settled against Stiles back not giving an inch of room for anything to pass between them, Melissa’s fingers entwined with John’s their hands resting above their heads while Melissa’s forehead came to rest at the back of Stiles head allowing her to whisper soft words into the teenagers ear while John had his chin resting on the top of his daughter’s head while his free hand came rest on Melissa’s hip thumb absentmindedly rubbing circles where a patch of skin had appeared as the t-shirt he’d given to her to wear; all of their legs settled easily amongst each other. 

 

And as she laid there Melissa felt content, and the stress of the hours passed since she’d been taken quickly weighed her down into a slumber so deep that she did not wake when her son came to check on them, and if she had stirred awake she would have seen him smiling at the sight before him. 

 


	19. Slashed across the face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek wants to be with Stiles, to be with his mate and keep her safe. But there’s an obstacle in the shape of Sheriff Stilinski that would possibly stop him from even seeing the girl he’d grown to love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short. Short. Short. Sorry. And I know Derek’s ridiculous. And sorry if that sounds harsh but my shoulder has been keeping me awake for three or is it four nights now and I’m being a little bit snippy.

 

His skin feels too tight, his heart feels thick and heavy inside his chest, and breathing feels like an unnecessarily troublesome labor to perform.Derek wants to chase after his mate, to comfort her and help her as much as possible. He wants to try and reason with the Sheriff and make him see how much Derek needs Stiles and how much Stiles really _needs_ him.Cora however doesn’t allow him to stray far from her reach.

 

She’s been hard with her words ever since she’d learned about her niece or nephew, she’s been cold in her mannerisms, and during the drive back to the loft she’d been silent and it had been a tense and loaded silence. 

 

The loft feels too big and far too cold and he hates being back in that space that had become a sore reminder of the horrendous mistake he’d made.Derek hates the way the loft smells even after all the cleaning he’d done he could still smell the bitch Jennifer all over the place, her scent tainted the space that had once held Stiles’ delicious warm and homely scent and he misses it so much that his heart aches. 

 

Derek hates smelling Jennifer still in the place he’d tried to make a home, he loathes the fact that she’d stained everything Stiles had touched with her presence and he wants to burn everything; he wants to burn the building down just rid himself of the constant brand of being a cheater and a heartbreaker. 

 

Cora says something but Derek isn’t really listening to her, instead he just stands there in the middle of the room trying to find some longer trail of Stiles scent a scent that wasn’t twisted into a sour and bitter stench that had come to be once she’d found him with Jennifer; he tries to find something he knows he will not find, it’s a desperate act of a sad fool. 

 

`Will you stop that!?´ Cora snaps from the direction of a kitchen he’d once promised Stiles he would upgrade for her sake because Stiles loved to cook and bake, but he’d never got around to it not with the Alpha pack and Jennifer. Derek turns to gaze as his sister who glares at him, and he’s not sure what he’d done wrong now.

 

`Stop that whimpering and whining.´ Cora growls while making her way out of the kitchen dropping down on the couch that he’d yet been able to get rid-off, taking a sip from the can of soda she’d snatched from the fridge that Stiles had managed to get him to perches, `I’m tired of hearing it Derek.´ Derek hangs his head and stays standing where he’d come to a stop.

 

Derek knows that Cora is tired of him and the disasters he leaves behind him wherever he goes. He knows she’s angry with him because he just keeps on screwing up, over and over again he keeps messing-up his own life and the lives of those around him **.**

 

He can hear his sister sigh heavily before the sound of her getting up and off of the couch reaching his ears, he looks up and sees Cora placing the can on the coffee table and walking up to him. 

 

Derek can’t tell if she’s going to punch him in the face or something else and it has him tensing-up where he’s standing, expecting for the worse but hoping for the best. 

 

`You need to stop whining and whimpering.´ Cora tells him her voice still harsh and angry, and she’s almost close enough to punch him in the face, but to his surprise she doesn’t hit him which is frankly a surprise as he feels like he should be beaten to a bloody pulp for all the horrible mistakes he’d made regarding women.

 

There’s a shift behind his sisters eyes as though she’s suddenly aware of how heavy his guilt was and how truly miserable he truly was, and as she opens her mouth he feels like perhaps this is the moment that she’d grant him some mercy, but before he can learn whether or Cora’s anger had subside just enough for her to give him some comfort themetal door was forcefully pulled open and their uncle came storming into the loft. 

 

Peter’s anger can be felt like a fast approaching thunderstorm. Peter’s anger is so very prominent that Derek feels his wolf pull back a little, and beginning to pace restlessly well aware of the danger the older werewolf was. And when Peter locks his eyes with Derek and suddenly Derek feels like he’s been dunked in ice-water.

 

`Are _you_ just going to allow that _silly_ _little_ man to dictate what you can and can’t do nephew?´Peter snarls as he strides down the steps, eyes flashing that eerie shade of blue that is a mark of shame at least in Derek’s own opinion at least.

 

The damage done to Peter’s face by the sudden punch has vanished leaving nothing to suggest that Peter had been struck a very angry beta, but the drops of bloods of dried blood speaks of the damage Isaac Lahey had done. 

 

`Derek, are you really going to allow some human to control you this way?´ there was something almost vicious about his uncle at that moment that made Derek feel on edge, there’s something dangerous about Peter once more.

 

`Are you going to allow that feeble man to separate you from your mate and child?´ the question bothered him more than Derek liked to admit, and the thought that what if it was true what if the Sheriff would keep him away from Stiles and their child. 

 

`Are you truly that spineless, Derek? ´ 

 

Derek honestly doesn’t know how to respond to the question. Because yes, Derek’s afraid of the sheriff, he’s been fearful of the man ever since his feelings towards Stiles started to change into something unexpected.Derek’s fear is now doubled by the possibility that he’d get his ass arrested for statutory rape which was in his own opinion ridiculous because he’d never rape anyone; he’d never force himself on Stiles because he loved her with all his heart. He’s terrified that the father of the young woman he loved would try and keep him away from her and their baby.

 

`That silly little human is Stiles father, Peter, so show some fucking respect.´Cora snarled pushing herself past Derek who couldn’t find a word to say. And the fact that Stiles would have and done it for him, spoken the words he was unable to find or use and to do it with an elegance Derek had always admired was one of the many reasons the werewolf had found her so amazingly attractive; and as he stood there silent Derek wished she’d been there to do the talking for Stiles was so good at it, she always seemed to know what he was thinking and trying to express and would do it for him without making him feel like a fool. 

 

`And you would do well to remember that, ´ Cora said like there was a threat somewhere there behind those words, she was moving dangerously close to their uncle and Derek wanted nothing more than draw her back and behind him as she continued onwards with her words laced with anger, `That silly little man is also the Sheriff of this town.´ 

 

Peter just rolled his eyes at that, causing Cora to growl at him in warning. 

 

`You know´ Peter’s voice had gone now down into something dangerously smooth, `he’s going to convince her to abort the baby, Derek.´ 

 

Peter’s words spur on that little fear that had been whispering at the back of his mind, that horrible whisper had started the second the sound of the car driving off with his mate.

 

` _He_ wouldn’t do that.´ Cora protests loudly and surely, but Derek doesn’t have the same amount of faith in the father of his mate and he can’t help but whimper at the idea that someone would talk Stiles into killing their baby. 

 

`Don’t be so naïve Cora,´ Peter barked eyes alight with a familiar madness and Derek instinctively pulls his sister away from their uncle, he’s not sure he would survive watching Peter rip Cora’s throat out without going completely mad with grief and guilt. 

 

`He’ll do it.´ Peter’s eyes locking with Derek’s own, and Derek feels suddenly trapped, and he tries to push Cora behind him for one thing he’d learned since childhood was that Peter was quick and accurate in his attacks.

 

`You think he wants a grandchild that’s probably going to be what he’d call a monster?´ Peter’s words hit him hard and the fear in Derek’s veins pull and tug at him hard, his wolf demanding him to go to his mate and child and protect them. He wants to go to Stiles, keep her safe; hide her away from all the threats of the world. 

 

`He’ll have her abort it tomorrow Derek, he’ll have it killed and dug out of her womb like some piece of trash, like an abomination.´ 

 

`NO! ´ Derek roars and his uncle responds in similar fashion.

 

`YES. HE. WILL!´ Peter shifted from being human to something more monstrous between the words _yes_ and _he_ , and Derek feels his own body following his uncles example and if Derek had turned his head just enough to get a glimpse of his sister then he’d see Cora following Peter’s and his steps. 

 

They are all snarling and growling before another word was said, and the growling is quickly followed by each of them circling the other. 

 

`Don’t. Listen. To. Him. ´ Cora snarls her words distorted by the sharp elongated teeth she’s now sporting.

 

Derek feels torn between believing his uncle, his wolf, or his sister who seems to believe that they could trust the sheriff not to twist and turn Stiles head towards the option of murdering their baby. He’s not sure whom to believe or what to fee, he feels as lost as he did on the night when he’d lost his family in a fire he’d caused due to his own stupidity. 

 

`We’re going to lose the baby Derek.´ Peter snarls, `We’re going to lose it if we don’t do something.´ 

 

`So what!?´Cora snaps while snapping her teeth in the direction of their uncle while pushing forward right past Derek who tries to snatch her and pull her back but missing her arm by just an inch or two.

 

`It’s not your baby. And even if it was,´Derek moves towards his sister who’s now standing face to face with their uncle and if looks could kill Cora would lay dead on the floor, `if Stiles wants it gone then so be it.´ Cora screams with rage and pain.

 

Derek pulls his sister away from their uncle, desperate to keep Cora away from Peter and to make sure she’s safe and to check on the wounds that run across Cora’s beautiful face thankfully the damage wouldn’t be everlasting. Derek glares at Peter who looks shocked by what he’d done claws and fangs retracting while his mouth moved as if trying to form words that would not undo the damage done. 

 

`Just go Peter.´ Derek growls at his uncle because at the moment Peter being there was doing none of them good,’ if anything Peter’s presence was causing more harm than good. 

 

There’s a look of hurt washing over Peter’s face before a hardness settled back into the features and a growl escaped the person who’d once been Derek’s best friend but who’d also killed Laura.

 

`Fine.´ Peter says while pulling out a handkerchief from one of his many pockets, `I’ll leave. For now.´ eyes on Derek and Cora the werewolf began to wipe the blood off of its hands. 

 

`But we need to deal with the problem before we lose the baby.´ were the last words his uncle spoke before leaving the loft, but Peter left something behind a frightful feeling that chewed on Derek’s insides.

 

 


	20. Undo what’s been done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Stiles unable to prevent Derek from making mistakes she undid them once they happened, for that was what she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all sorry for the wait I know I promised some people I would post a chapter last week but I got a little bit sick and was unable to spend any time at my computer to write anything and once I got better well I had a lot of things to catch-up with. I’m sorry about this chapter, it’s not very good with all the Melissa and Scott thing which just didn’t turnout at all like I wanted it too no matter how much I obviously tried to make it good, and then this whole disaster of Derek Hale thing, I’m pretty sure I’ve lost my skill to write anything good at the moment. Yes, I’m bashing Mr. McCall once more, just deal with it okay. We’ve also got a little bit of the Sheriff. 
> 
> Oh I’ll just crawl into a hole in the ground now…

 

Waking-up had never been a slow process for Melissa, she didn’t need a cup of coffee to get started or a shower to wash away the sleep that had held her, no when Melissa McCall awakened from her slumber it was an easy process which started with a complete awareness to her body and then her surroundings and so as she awakened feeling rather uncomfortable it didn’t take long for her to wake-up entirely.

 

There’s an ache in her back she does not appreciate the slightest, she’d been sleeping on her arm which now feels numb while the shoulder she’s been laying on is in no better shape than her back and furthermore her neck felt stiff and a sharp pain shoots through her neck and shoulder as she shifts, her aching body demands her to move with cautiousness befitting her current physical state. It doesn’t take her long to realize how close she is to falling off of the bed or where she is, opening her eyes Melissa finds herself where she expected herself to be; sleeping between her and the good sheriff of Beacon Hills was the man’s daughter, both Stilinski’s were still sleeping peacefully Stiles pressed so very close to her father as though still seeking comfort from him and Melissa was pressed-up against Stiles back and the girl had one of Melissa’s hand trapped against her chest, it was all enough to make the discomfort a little less bothersome especially as the man she’d grown to care for a great deal had his hand on her waist all of it simply felt right to her.

 

Melissa lays there for a minute or two, perhaps five or ten, simply basking in the closeness she feels a closeness she’s missed for far too many years. Melissa couldn’t recall a time when she’d felt this with her ex-husband who’d never really wanted to have a child a fact he’d thrown in her face every chance he got,and it wasn’t only Melissa who’d been forced to listen to the bitter and angry man’s rantings about how he’d been forced to become a father when he really didn’t want to be one for he was more than willing to reveal this to his own son, a son who was a failure in his eyes due to not only his gentle nature but also his respiratory issues;the man had been so set against cuddling Scott that once Scott was three-years old he was forbidden to crawl into their bed during thunderstorms or after nightmares which Scott was however allowed to do whenever he stayed over at the Stilinski house.

 

Melissa would never forget the night when a crying Scott stood at the foot of the bed she shared with her husband at the time, the thunder shaking the windows of the house while her only child the child that according to her ex had ruined her body begged them to allow him to come up into their bed.

 

_`No.´ the sharp, hard, angry answer didn’t surprise Melissa McCall the slightest it was as familiar to her as breathing was,however it still did not ease the guilt or sadness Melissa felt in her heart as she watched tears roll down those familiar round cheeks she loved to pepper with little kisses.Melissa hated her inability to argue that harsh and cruel **no** into a pleasant **yes**. _

 

_All she wanted to do was to pull Scott who was just standing there, hugging the care bear Stiles had given him tightly to his chest it was a ratty looking thing one that Claudia had owned and passed on to her only daughter who’d then decided after years of possessing the bear that Scott should have it because he loved care bears far more than she did._

 

_`Go back to your room Scott.´ is all her husband says without so much as turning to look at their crying son not that it would do much good for Scott if his dad saw him crying, if anything it would make the situation worse; nothing she or Scott did these days were good enough for him, at first Melissa had explained it all away as stress related to his job and eventually that also became the reason for his heavy drinking, but these days she just thought it was just the way Rafael McCall was._

 

_`B-b-but auntie-Claudia a-and uncle-John lets me.´ those words shocked Melissa as much as they enraged her husband, Rafael was out of bed in an instant and shouting at Scott to explain what he meant with those words of his to which a very frightened Scott answered truthfully, `If I’m scared or if me and Stiles are scared they let us sleep with them in their bed. Claudia will sing and cuddle, and John says he’ll protect us from everything because that’s his job.´and those were the wrong words to say as suddenly Melissa is alone in the master bedroom with Scott who is crying and apologizing and asking if the Stilinski’s were now in trouble, and unfortunately the answer comes in the form of his father yelling to one Claudia Stilinski whom he’d unthoughtfully called at three in the morning while she was home alone with her daughter while her husband was working the shift Rafael was supposed to be on; the realization that he had indeed gotten the Stilinski’s into trouble, unaware that no matter how much his father yelled at Claudia she would lash out at him with her ten-times sharper and wittier tongue._

 

Melissa knew she’d been lucky when Stiles Stilinski walked over to Scott who was far too shy to go over and play with the other kids there, Melissa knew she and Scott had been beyond fortunate when that odd little girl with bruised knees and a big smile decided she and Scott were best friends because it made becoming friends with the Stilinski’s easier; each member of the Stilinski family were helpful and supportive in their own way, and Melissa was sure that without the Stilinski’s she might’ve clung on to an unhappy marriage that had been harmful to her son.

 

The unpleasant memories were quickly replaced with thoughts about Stiles and her condition when the girl mumbled the name of damn werewolf who’d as good as snapped a part of Stiles’ spirit in half, Melissa began to wonder whether this beautiful girl sleeping between her and the man who’d grown to hate her ex-husband as much as she did if not more for all the hurtful things the older-McCall had done to the younger one,it pained her to know that not only had she failed to protect Scott from his father’s cold nature she’d also failed to protect Stiles from ever having to experience this unfair state of an unwanted pregnancy maybe if she’d paid more attention to Stiles and noticed that there was something going on between her and Derek Hale maybe she could’ve convinced Stiles to withhold from any sexual activity until the relationship had gone on for at least a year; until everyone could be sure that Derek Hale couldn’t turn around and hurt the clever girl that had never abandoned Melissa’s son.

 

Melissa wanted to destroy Derek Hale, break him the way he’d shattered Stiles wonderful heart and spirit. She wanted John to get out of bed, grab his gun and shoot the beast dead. She wanted this disaster of a pregnancy to be nothing more than a nightmare but Melissa wasn’t going to wake-up and find it all to be a horrible mistake, she wasn’t going to wake-up and find herself living a happy life under the same roof as John Stilinski and she wasn’t going to wake-up to find all three of her kids healthy and happy because life wasn’t meant to be easy for any of them.

 

Still regardless of what would happen to the life slowly developing inside Stiles womb one thing was for certain there would be consequences no matter the choices and actions Stiles’ made, there would still be cracks in Stiles heart and confidence and Melissa understood this very well and she would make sure that Stiles got the help she needed to rebuild what Hale had broken; Melissa would take time-off from work if need be, she wasn’t going to leave Stiles to deal with whatever aftermath came with her decision.

 

 _Stop thinking about it,_ a tired little voice in the back of Melissa’ head said, _do something instead, something useful._

 

Melissa agreed with that faint voice although there was very little she could do now, still she could make a proper breakfast for them all to eat before having to deal with possible missing-persons reports and the teen pregnancy that couldn’t and shouldn’t be ignored any further. Very carefully Melissa freed her hand from Stiles grip and replaced her hand with John’s, which seemed enough to settle the sleeping girl who whined unhappily in her sleep when Melissa slipped her hand out of the gentle hold.

 

Sitting up, finally free to move, Melissa found herself starring at Scott who was sitting in Stiles desk-chair head thrown back in an awkward angel mouth agape with light snores escaping from the open cavern of his mouth, and it made her smile a little to know he’d chosen to stay the night with her and the Stilinski’s instead of going home, but what made her heart flutter was the sight of Isaac sleeping next to the bed as if guarding the window through which all-sorts of evil beings could pass-through; and not for the first-time did she wonder if indeed there was a chance for her to have a slightly larger family than the one she’d grown accustomed too. But her little hopes were of no use at the moment, what she needed to do was deal with the more pressing matters such as Stiles’ pregnancy as well as her son.

 

Melissa couldn’t deny it that when Stiles had confided to her while she washed the cold off of the body that in Melissa’s of opinion was nowhere near ready to carry the burden of a pregnancy that Scott was against the option of abortion, hearing Stiles cry over the fact that she thought Scott would hate her if she had an abortion had made Melissa feel extremely displeased with her son; and what Stiles needed the most at the moment and the days and months to come was reassurance that no matter her choice none of them would judge her for it.

 

Carefully and without a word Melissa slipped out of bed and past Isaac who mumbled something in his sleep, and made her way over to Scott whom she patted gently on the shoulder while softly demanding him awake; Scott didn’t startle awake as Melissa was used to him doing instead it was a slow process that ended with him lifting his head up and gazing at her with a dopey smile a smile that vanishes as she continues to speak to him

 

`Scott, I need to have word with you.´ Melissa whispered in the otherwise silent room, there must have been something that alerted Scott to trouble for he was suddenly wide-awake with a very serious look in his eyes.Carefully and as silently as humanly possible the two McCall’s slipped out of the bedroom as well as down the stairs, both ignoring the gun on the small table by the stairs.

 

Melissa made her way into the familiar kitchen where she and Claudia had prepared together every other Thanksgiving meal but once Claudia was hospitalized  Melissa stopped preparing anything inside this small kitchen, and the Thanksgiving meals became a none-existing thing; John was always at work or she was, and as Melissa scavenged through the kitchen cabinets finding everything as Claudia had kept it she began to think how disappointed Stiles mother would be to know that the traditional McCall and Stilinski Thanksgiving had died with her.

 

`Mom?´ Scott says softly voice laced with concern and Melissa can’t help but feel a sense of pride as she turns to see the look of genuine concern in his eyes, she  was tremendously proud of the fact that Scott had not taken after Rafael but become a sweet young man who didn’t shy away from being gentle and kind.

 

`Mom, what’s wrong? ´

 

`It’s just, ´ Melissa breathes out trying to keep her voice from trembling, this was not the time to break-down in tears over things that could not be undone, `Stiles has kept everything the same the way her mother did, ´ Melissa answered voice low and soft, tears stinging her eyes as she took out the slightly scratched-up mixing-bowl, `it just brings back memories that’s all.´

 

Her answer seemed to be enough.

 

Unlike their house where there was barely a trace left of Rafael McCall who’d left taking almost everything with him leaving one a few pieces of furniture that Melissa had acquired without his assistance or input as well as all of Scott’s behind, unlike their house that had changed a little during the years the Stilinski house was in the same shape as it had been when Claudia Stilinski was hospitalized for good.

 

`So, ´ Scott began trying to take her mind of off unpleasant or sad memories that were creeping up, `pancakes or scrambled eggs? ´

 

`Why not both.´ Melissa said while leaning into kiss Scott’s cheek, a silent thank you to him for being there, her words made Scott smile happily while starting to pick out the necessary ingredients.They work silently for a moment before Melissa felt comfortable enough and sure enough of herself to dive into the issues that needed to be dealt with before the others came to join them in the kitchen.

 

`So, you’re an Alpha now.´ Scott freezes immediately, the egg he’d been about to crack pausing just an inch away from the edge of the smaller mixing-bowl.

 

 `How did this particular development transpire?´ she continued to ask with a light tone to her voice, trying her hardest to make it sound like this wasn’t such a big thing not after everything they’d been trough.

 

`Deucalion, ´ Scott says hanging his head in clear shame, placing the egg down on the counter before clenching both of his hands into tight fists, and as he continues to speak it is clear to Melissa that her son had done something he wasn’t proud of, `He – he said there was no way for me to find John in time, not without his help. ´

 

Melissa stops mixing the pancake batter which she knows will be a weak comparison to the one Claudia had made, which was strange considering how many times she’d tried to teach Melissa how to make them the way she did.

 

`He – he promised he could help me, and I didn’t ask how – I should’ve asked.´ and Melissa could agree to that if she wanted to make her son feel worse which she didn’t instead she reaches out, wrapping her hand around his wrist and says the only thing she can think of.

 

`You just wanted to help Scott, there’s nothing wrong with that.´

 

Scott shakes his head and a tear slips from his closed eyes.

 

`I should’ve asked, I should’ve been smarter like Stiles.´ and yes it’s true Stiles would’ve asked questions, she would’ve  made sure to know what she’d walk into before she walked into it, but Scott wasn’t Stiles and Stiles wasn’t Scott; Melissa’s son would do anything to help those he cared about without think about his own safety, that was probably the reason he’d walked into those woods that night when Peter Hale bit him, he went with Stiles to make sure she remained safe and she had stayed safe.

 

`But I didn’t ask, I just went with him.´ Scott opens his eyes and looked a lot like he was about to start crying in earnest, `There was this Alpha, he was old and he just attacked me without a word of warning.´ Melissa doesn’t like where this is going and she feels her blood run cold, `It was planned from the start, it has to be because why else would he just attack me like that? ´

 

Melissa doesn’t need to hear anymore about this particular detail of her sons life, not when it’s clear that this conversation was beyond taxing to her son who wouldn’t willingly hurt another soul, but from what she could understand between his sobs it was clear the Alpha’s hadn’t given her any other choice than kill or be killed.

 

`You did what you thought was best. It’s not your fault Scott, you were just trying to help.´ Melissa tells her crying son and each word she knows is true because Scott wasn’t a cold-blooded killer, `Scott, you did what you had to do to survive and I’m glad you did.´ and she is glad her son had killed this unknown Alpha, she was glad that Scott had survived because her son deserved to live more than some murdering Alpha; Scott would perhaps not make the world a better place to live in but he would always try to do good, because that was what Scott did.

 

`I love you.´ Melissa tells Scott while she holds him, and slowly but surely her son begins to calm down.

 

**~*~**

 

It is the scent of coffee, delicious, heavenly dark liquid that burned the tongue and throat if not wary that draws the good Sheriff of Beacon Hills awake.His mind is slightly muddled as it is most mornings due to the way his body seems to shut-down completely with or without a stiff drink  before bed due to his growing age and the hours he spends working,of course the stress of everything from work to trying to raise his daughter right doesn’t help him the slightest.But he knows he will be fully functional once he has his first cup of coffee, and so he tries to roll off of his side onto his back which causes him to startle awake as gravity takes hold of him and his aching body dropping him hard on the floor; the painful impact as well as the realization that he was indeed falling causes him to recall where he’s at and why he was falling.

 

It’s the impact that jars his memory, he recalls being stitched up in the glare of the headlights of his daughters jeep and falling asleep in his daughters bed while trying to comfort and reassure Stiles that they were all alright and that he was neither angry or disappointed with her although the later was somewhat true and John hated himself for it.

 

John recalls how Melissa had been there with him together they had made a valiant effort to secure some comfort into Stiles who had never seemed so fragile to John Stilinski before, not even as a newborn had his daughter appeared to him so frail and in need of him; and it was absolutely terrifying to suddenly be so very needed.

 

He’s on the floor John knows he’s on the floor of his daughter’s bedroom, as he lays there John begins to wonder how he’d been so severely blind to his own daughter’s less than ideal state or the way she’d been going about hiding things from him for months, he’s sure Claudia would’ve worked-out that Stiles was over her head long before he did; sure he’d sensed something was wrong for months because Stiles had changed noticeably even before the pregnancy and yet he’d done nothing about it, he’d not even asked not once if she was alright and at night when he’d heard her cry in her room he’d stayed away because he was afraid of so many things.

 

He’d been too afraid of what his daughter might say if he did attempt to talk to her, he’d been too afraid to hear that she was unhappy or sad, that she was depressed or possibly worse. Worse was the prospect of having Stiles telling him how she was slowly losing her mind, to hear her say she was showing the same symptoms that her mother had displayed.

 

John’s stiff and sore all over and there is an unsavory ache where the wound Melissa had hastily stitched-up last night, and it causes him to groan loudly.

 

There’s a lot of commotion going on suddenly, or maybe not suddenly and maybe all that much even, but  there was some commotion none the less considering he’d fallen of the bed like some drunkard, and undoubtedly he’d made enough noise to draw some attention to him.

 

Soon enough his only child was peering down at him from the bed she was as wide-awake as he was and wearing shocked look on her face, and not too far away from the bed was the Lahey kid all fangs and claws looking around the room like he was searching for some invisible monster which made him hope he wasn’t the monster Isaac was looking for.

 

`Dad? Daddy?´ Stiles says voice laced with that godawful worry he should not spur into her, he is the parent and she is the child; she should be free of all the troubles and woes, he should’ve protected her better kept her safe and not focus so strongly on drowning his own sorrows with alcohol or work.

 

Stiles joins him on the floor, her hands raised and almost touching him but Stiles seems afraid to touch him, and he isn’t sure if the fear comes from her fear of causing him more harm than good. He’s about to tell Stiles how he’s fine, that he’s not hurt, to tell her not to worry but the werewolf in the room makes that attempt impossible as he opens his mouth and speaks words that will not comfort his daughter the slightest.

 

`Did you tare the stitches? ´ Isaac asked with an air of alarm the less than human appearance vanishing as he moves closer towards where Stiles was now kneeling, but even if it was clear that this kid and by the heavens they were all kids running around fighting monsters, was worried about him all John wanted to do was punch the young werewolf because just mentioning the stitches caused the last of the color on Stiles face to vanish.

 

`What stitches?´ Stiles asked her breathing becoming a bit more labored as neither her father or Isaac were providing her with an answer.

 

`Should I get Melissa?´ Isaac asked while Stiles was looking back and forth between the werewolf and John Stilinski whose daughter looked absolutely close to crumbling, her breathing less officiant than what was appropriate. John could recognize the first signs of a quickly approaching panic attack, and because the very last thing the Sheriff wanted was for his daughter to have a panic attack at that moment John reaches out towards his daughter while sitting up, pulling her into a hug.

 

`Stiles – honey, breathe. It’s okay. I’m okay.´ John tells his only child holding her tightly and trying hold her as tightly as possible so Stiles could feel him alive and well, he continues to hold his daughter whom he loved dearly and with a certain ache that came with the way she resembled so much Claudia; it was both a blessing and a curse that Stiles had inherited her mother’s unique beauty.

 

Isaac pointed in the direction of the door as soon as John’s eyes connected with his owns looking like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to escape the uncomfortable situation, but John took pity on the boy who really didn’t need to watch Stiles unravel the way she was threatening to do.

 

`Go on son, ´ John says without thinking, giving the poor kid a perfectly formed escape from the unpleasant situation, the look of pure gratitude confirmed John’s opinion about Stiles and her friends being nothing more than kids; kids who’d been forced to try and grow-up far too soon, kids who still needed some form of parental figures to make sure the world didn’t crush them completely where they stood to help them not carry the weight of the world on their young shoulders.

 

Isaac left the room immediately, closing the door behind him gently.

 

`Stiles, I’m fine. I promise I’m fine.´ sure there was an unpleasant ache where the stab wound was, but other than that and his relatively high blood pressure he was fine and he needed Stiles to understand he was alright even if he had been stabbed and stitched.

 

He sits there repeating the same words over and over again, until Stiles finally rests her head against his shoulder and sighs out a sad little, `I’m sorry.´

 

`Stiles, you’ve done nothing wrong.´ John says voice firm but gentle.

 

`I’m pregnant dad, how can you say I haven’t done anything wrong.´ Stiles whispers against his shoulder.

 

`Did you plan it? ´ He asks and he knows the answer even before Stiles answers the question.

 

`No.´

 

`Well then. You’ve done nothing wrong.´ John says voice sure gazing into the eyes of his daughter who still seems unable to release the amount of guilt and self-loathing she feels, but John will make it vanish one day maybe not today or that week but one day his daughter would be free of it all even if it meant that John had to work ten times harder at being a better dad.

 

 

**~*~**

 

He can’t sleep, he’s tried to sleep away the strain and heartache that has drained him of his strength as successfully as a wolfsbane poisoning could.Derek has tried to take his sisters sage advice and rest but there’s no such thing for his wary soul, he can’t sleep for his mind will not allow it his thoughts are all a whirlwind of misery and pain tormenting him to the point where he has to bite down on his pillow to keep his screams from disturbing his sister’s rest. ****Peter’s words play around in inside his head like a broke record, the words of warning of doom and death so loud in his ears that it’s almost deafening.

 

Derek fights against the want to seek the mother of his child and take her home with him to keep those horrible words his uncle had spoken from becoming reality, to keep the images playing in his mind’s eye from becoming true;Derek can see it all in vivid colors how the little life which is already so deeply loved by both man and beast is removed from its mother’s body before it’s time, Derek can see through his disturbing imagination how the baby he loves and knows Stiles could love if she gave it a chance  is extracted from Stiles crying form like some cancerous tumor while people like the Sheriff and the Argent’s look on with pleased smiles on their faces.

 

Derek can’t sleep, can’t find the peace of mind to slip into a restful slumber as his sister has been able too once the gashes across her face had knitted back together again leaving not a single mark of remind of the appalling behavior of their uncle.Derek can hear how peacefully Cora sleeps upstairs in the room that had once belonged to Isaac but which was now completely empty of his belongings, Derek has no real knowledge of when his former beta had entered the loft and removed every single piece of his belongs from the loft even the mug Stiles had given him when she’d learned Isaac had moved in with Derek had vanished from the kitchen, and Derek has no idea when exactly Cora had moved into the room what Isaac had chosen as his own.

 

Although Derek’s happy to have Cora at his side although her loyalties aren’t as firm as he’d wished them to be, he still does miss the youth he’d turned and failed to care for the way Stiles had undoubtedly expected him too, and Derek knows he is entirely to blame for the loss of Isaac Lahey for it had been all Derek’s own doing; ****but there had been a part of Derek that had expected Stiles to undo his mistake the way she always did, to mend the break he’d created when he’d kicked the werewolf out of his loft and pack, but she hadn’t come to his rescue this time which made his heart sink further for never had Stiles allowed him to just do stupid things without trying to prevent them or undo them once he’d done them.

 

If Stiles couldn’t prevent Derek’s mistakes then she would fix them, undo them, Derek turns to lay on his side as a cruel voice points out how that’s exactly what Stiles is about to do with their baby, but this mistake wasn’t one she needed to undo for this could be a mistake that would make their lives whole again; this baby could undo the damage Jennifer Blake had made, the little life could mend both him and Stiles if only she allowed it.

 

The bed feels too big and far too empty for him, Derek misses the way Stiles had occupied that space with her pale-skin and long limbs, and his heart aches at the emptiness he feels now that she’s not there physically. Derek aches with the lack of Stiles and her wonderful scent, her scent is long gone from all the pillows and blankets and even the matrass everything had been tainted with the stench of another treacherous female who could never compare to Stiles.

 

Derek can’t stop thinking about Stiles, can’t stop the desire to see her from consuming him whole.He misses the way she’d touched him like he was something she couldn’t entirely believe to be real, the way she’d touched him had held the power to convince him that he Derek Hale deserved to be loved and cherished;Stiles had touched him like he was something precious, worthy of worship, her touch was what saved lives while Kate’s and Jennifer’s were the very opposite. He longed for Stiles with every fiber of his wretched body and soul, he missed the way Stiles could kiss him so sweetly and innocently one minute and the next so passionately that he could feel her want and lust all the way into his bones.

 

He missed Stiles in her entirety, her voice even her cold feet, her long slender neck and the way her eyes spoke to him as clearly as her mouth did, he missed her almost constant talking and her laughter and giggles. Derek missed Stiles’ stubbornness and her neediness as much as he missed the way she sang of key to every song, he missed her sarcasm and the way she’d challenge him. Derek ached to hear her whisper the words “I trust you” again.

 

Derek can’t stop the tears that begin to flow as he thinks back to the first night Stiles had whispered those wonderful words to him, those words that meant so much more to him than _I love you_ ever could, the memory of how she’d been so afraid of the possibility of pain that night when she’d promised her body to him; she’d been so innocent and pure in her nakedness, her body trembling from head to toe as she  that she whispered into his ear “I trust you” there had be no doubt or hesitation there, and it had made him promise to uphold that trust until his death and he had fully intended to keep it or that is until his mind became muddled with Jennifer Blake.

 

He cries into his pillow, and bites into it harder as his wolf wanted to howl its sorrow and anguish into the night for all to hear, and soon enough he’s shredding the pillow into pieces as a bitter anger floods his heart; the anger he feels is not directed towards the mother of his child but the heartless bitch who’d ruined his happiness, as well as the happiness of his mate who was perhaps at the very moment weeping into her own pillow.And that idea of Stiles crying into her pillow all alone the way Derek had found her more than once since Stiles’ and her father’s relationship became strained with all the secrecy she was made to uphold to keep her father safe as well as Scott and Derek, was too much for the werewolf who gets out of bed before rethinking his actions too much.

 

Derek’s out of the loft without a word to his sister for he knows Cora would only try and stop him if he told her where he was heading, he knows she wants him to give Stiles space and time to let that wonderful human to come to him when she’s ready too but Derek can’t wait for all of the what-if’s that whisper in his mind end with only misery and pain. He doesn’t think twice as he slips into his car and begins to drive down the streets of Beacon Hills while the still weak light of dawn spreading the message of a new day beginning it was a message that a few inhabitants of the small town had already grown aware of;it amazed Derek how those who lived in this peculiar town continued to be so blind to the supernatural elements that  ran amuck amongst them, then again if the truth ever came out there would be chaos and panic, every gun-wielding lunatic and self-proclaimed hero of man would be on the prowl and undoubtedly more than a few would shoot-first and ask questions later for that seemed like the nature of most humans; it seemed all you had to do was wear the wrong skin-color, move oddly or wear a beard or have an accent and that granted some individuals the right to put you down like some stray dog.  

 

Beacon Hills hadn’t felt like a safe place for Derek in years and now he lived there once more but he was also about to become a parent to a little life that relied on him to keep it safe from harm. The thought of having his son or daughter grow-up in this town of danger and death made the werewolf feel like he should uproot himself and Stiles, that he should move his family somewhere safer where they could live in relative peace.Derek began to entertain the thought about leaving Beacon Hills with Stiles taking her somewhere faraway and safe, but although Derek knows that Stiles would never agree to leaving this place where her mother was laid to rest, he dreams of doing just that; but Derek knows Stiles would never willingly leave her father or for that matter Scott McCall. And Derek knows he can’t force Stiles to leave with him and he has no real desire to force her to leave with him. Derek knew he couldn’t ask anymore of Stiles than what he’d already asked from her. He couldn’t demand her to have his child and move away from everyone she loved and cared for, Derek wasn’t a complete monster after all.

 

Driving towards the destination where he hoped he’d find Stiles, this  drive was probably one which the werewolf could do while blindfolded considering how often he’d made the journey to the Stilinski house,  Derek tried to steady his nerves but the more he tried to calm himself the higher his anxiety levels became.

 

 It was the thought of Stiles that acted against Derek’s attempts to settle his nerves  for where thoughts of Stiles had been the source of comfort to him  in moments of emotional turmoil, usually any thoughts of Stiles was enough to sooth his fears and worries, but now the thought of her would push his thoughts to the child she was carrying; and the more Derek thought about Stiles and their baby the more fearful he became over everything that could go wrong before and after the birth of their child, the more he feared that she would be influenced to make the wrong decision by those around her.

 

Before Derek’s life had become the tragedy which he was the reason for, there had been a time before and during Paige that he’d thought about having a family of his and being in a loving relationship like the one his own parents had been blessed with, but of course after Paige he’d begun to doubt that he would ever find love or have a family of his own but then along came Kate Argent and once more Derek had thought he could have what his own  parents had achieved, but then the woman he’d loved and trusted with not only his heart but the secrets of his family and what Kate did with all that was to burn Derek’s family and dreams to ashes.

 

He’d spent years alone, he’d spent years suspicious and angry of humans and especially any female that tried to draw him into their hold. Derek had spent years alone and firm in his belief that loneliness was all he would ever have, but then along came Stiles Stilinski who not only trespassed on his land but also his heart without trying to seduce him; she’d simply walked straight into his life and refused to leave no matter how hard he growled and threatened her, and with her strength of will to keep him alive and show him he wasn’t alone anymore Derek had started to dream again of things he’d believed he would never have.

 

Stiles had dragged him out of the darkness, held him above the waters that threatened to consume and trap him to his dying day, and now she was pregnant with his child as if to prove to him she was indeed the one and only meant for him; but with her came the fear of losing everything again.  

 

The former-Alpha knew how easily the Sheriff could destroy the possible happiness he was as good as promised in the shape of Stiles as well the child she was carrying inside her, all the man had to do was drag his spirited daughter to the nearest hospital or clinic for an abortion, the Sheriff could do it all without Derek knowing it. Of course Derek wished the Sheriff wasn’t the sort of a man to force his daughter to have an abortion but you never could tell with people, especially the human sorts, Derek had learned that particular lesson the hard way by experiencing the agony of having his family and pack burn to the ground by the very person who’d promised him a lifetime of love and happiness.

 

Driving down the very street on which Stiles had undoubtedly learned how to ride a bike Derek began to find it hard to fathom how his life had turned into something frightfully like one of those annoying overly dramatic TV-shows Laura had loved to watch. He hates the way he’s become one of those pathetic and tragic characters that had made his skin crawl because in the end everything that happened to them was their own fault.

 

Derek knew he could tempt fate by parking his car right outside the Stilinski house, he knew he could always just walk straight up to the front-door and ring the doorbell like your average Tom, Dick and Harry. Derek knew he could try his luck by making his way up to the house where Stiles had lived all her life, he could just walk up to the front door of the sheriff’s house as though he was there to visit the Stilinski’s like a friend of the family. Derek could try to enter the house like a proper person would instead of sneaking around like some creeper, instead of climbing through windows like he had done since learning where Stiles loved.

 

However with Derek’s track-record there was no way on earth the Sheriff would ever just let Derek just walk into his house even if only to talk with Stiles; no, Derek was better off sneaking around like he’d done since the day Stiles trespassed into his life.

 

Instead of parking his car near the house that had once sheltered him when he was being chased by both the law-enforcers and hunters,the house where he’d showered when his living arrangements had lacked running water, Derek parked his car five houses away from the Stilinski’s.The house where he had parked his car more times than not when visiting the girl who’d astonished him with her strength of will and a kindness she’d attempted to hide from everyone but those she trusted not to use it against her, had been abandoned long enough for the structure to become uninhabitable, it was not therefor uncommon for visitors to park their cars in the driveway of this decrepit building.

 

Derek parks his car up in the sad excuse of a driveway, he checks to make sure the coast is clear before getting out of the car, there has never been a moment before this visit when he hasn’t been as cautious as he is now; there had always been a danger to calling on the Sheriff’s daughter. Certain that no one was around to see him Derek slipped out of the car and headed without hesitation towards the backyard which was in as a bad shape as the house was, throughthe weeds and the ruined lawn was a man-made path curtesy of his truly which he took while still listening to his surroundings to make sure no one was out and about to make things difficult for him. He doesn’t leap the fences or rather fences before he’s sure it’s safe, crossing the gardens and leaping over the few weak barriers between him and the Stilinski garden was an easy thing to do for the werewolf who’d grown as familiar with this as he was with climbing up to the window leading into Stiles bedroom, this was all a dance in the park for him; he doesn’t care or worry about what state he leaves or enters the neighboring yards to the Stilinski’s but he does take much more care about climbing the fence into the Stilinski’s backyard not wanting to damage any of the rosebushes Mrs. Stilinski had planted in the yard; Derek would never forget Stiles reaction when she’d learned how he’d trampled those rosebushes during his first visit to her house, he would never forget the extent of Stiles anger at first he’d thought it odd for the girl to have such a reaction to a bunch of silly little flowers but then when she cried out the history behind those prickly flowers he understood the value of those plants and since then he took great care of not harming a single branch or petal.

 

With the Stilinski house standing before him Derek had to wonder how this was his life, standing outside the house that had served him as a sanctuary when he was being chased by not only hunters but Stiles’ father too, how he’d come to feel so unwanted and unwelcomed in Stiles’ life, he stood there in the same garden where he’d hid more than once to just watch as Stiles dealt with her father’s suspicion’s; this was the place where he’d been when he had realized that he was indeed in love with the girl who’d kept him above water even when she could’ve saved herself by letting him go, this was the place where he’d realized he could no longer ignore or pretend that Stiles Stilinski hadn’t stolen his heart.

 

But before Derek can dwell deeper into the emotional chaos within him or become completely lost in his own thoughts and memories he hurries over to the window through which he climbed more than once, sometimes to ask for Stiles’ help or to just sleep in her bed while she was at school; her scent had always made it easier for him to fall into a peaceful sleep, her scent had always calmed down his wolf and at the moment all Derek Hale wants is to find some peace of mind.

 

 


	21. In this town of sorrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s a broken girl and a shattered slab of stone that had once held a mother’s name, and there are foolish souls all around chasing their own tails and judgments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’ve got Isaac, in this chapter and now I’m starting to regret the ending I’ve chosen because now I want him to end-up with Stiles…. Gods be damned how annoying my brain is!  
> WARNING to you Scott McCall lovers there might be some Scott McCall bashing here and a slight Allison and Lydia bashing. Oh and we’ve got Chris Argent in the house for the time being.  
> And I know this chapter is stupid, but when I thought about cutting it out but then I thought no Isaac deserved to be seen and the thing with Lydia and Allison too.  
> And sorry about how long this is.

 

Acceptance had always been something of a painfully easy affair to Isaac Lahey, and it had always been something of a double edged sword.

 

Accepting his father’s abusive nature had been easy enough to do, the acceptance left Isaac with an unwillingness to rise against his father and instead it left Isaac to learn how to tread with caution around his father as well as others who might harm him or decide to try and involve themselves in Isaac’s private affairs; acceptance had trapped Isaac in a world of abuse for war too long. When Derek Hale stepped into his life offering the gift of the bite Isaac had accepted it easily enough,he’d accepted everything the Alpha told him about becoming and being a werewolf as well as the promises of a pack being both a family and a source of protection,he’d accepted it all easily enough due to his desperation to have something better than his old-life as the timid submissive person his father had beat him into, and when the life of a beta and the pack Derek had created didn’t turn out anything like the tales Derek had told him and unlike Erica and Boyd Isaac accepted it; and when Erica and Boyd left Isaac accepted their departure as he did the fact that the two left without him, Isaac accepted their betrayal easily enough knowing he hadn’t been special enough for either Erica or Boyd for them to ask him to leave with them, and once they found  Erica dead he accepted it without much difficulty, and when Boyd was killed Isaac didn’t play around in the field of denial.

 

Isaac may have accepted the violent way with which Derek trained him, but although Isaac unwaveringly accepted the way Derek beat him to the ground during each training session and the way the Alpha broke his arm or leg like Isaac’s bones were nothing more than sad little twigs the sheriff’s daughter had not accepted it not by a long shot;once Stiles caught on to what she’d called “sadistic and inhuman training sessions” Derek put Isaac through she raged and ranted until she forced Derek to accept change, to accept her way of training which did not involve breaking skin or bones.

 

But although Isaac had been able to accept a lot of things without effort there had been a handful of instances when his ability accept had been trialed and tested,the first being Stiles’ clear attempt at making friends with him and the now two dead betas Erica and Boyd, Isaac had hardly seen a reason to trust the girl who didn’t seem to respect his Alpha much. There had been a great deal of doubt on Isaac’s part when it came to how Derek Hale had survived at the pool while paralyzed, he’d struggled to believe that the sheriff’s daughter had been able to keep the much larger and heavier male from drowning. Isaac had also struggled to understand why someone with the looks Derek Hale possessed would fall for the plaid-wearing sarcasm-wielding and unnecessarily talkative girl who couldn’t sit still for five minutes, and once Isaac accepted Derek’s obvious lust for the girl who laughed far too loudly and who seemed attached to Scott McCall’s hip the unthinkable happened in the shape of Derek’s unfaithfulness and that shock was overshadowed with the news of Stiles’ pregnancy which Isaac wanted to deny but couldn’t.

 

There was no sense of struggle in Isaac when it came to the idea, the prospect, of Stiles aborting the baby that was unwelcomely growing inside the sheriff’s daughter. Isaac had no trouble understanding why Stiles wanted to get rid of the baby that had been made by two lovers that were now shattered and separated, it was obvious that Stiles wasn’t ready or willing to deal with the burden of a child before she was truly ready to give-up on some of her dreams for the future;and Isaac honestly didn’t think Stiles should be made to sacrifice her dreams just because of a slipup, Stiles if anyone deserved to go to college and experience the world beyond Beacon Hills.

 

Unlike Scott who was more like a brother to the younger Stilinski than anything else Isaac might’ve imagined during the years when he wasn’t close to the now young Alpha,unlike Scott Isaac understood and accepted Stiles’ decision to abort the baby while Scott held-firm on his belief that Stiles should have and keep the baby because according to Scott “I believe in happy endings and love everlasting” McCall Stiles would regret anything else but having the baby and keeping it. Isaac however didn’t live in the delusional world Scott did where there were such things as love at first-sight and where every birth of a child was considered a blessing and that was why he let an unhappy groan escaped one which Isaac had been keeping down and locked away for the better part of Scott’s speech about what needed to be done with Stiles and about Stiles, it had started out with the Alpha talking about how much Stiles would regret aborting the baby and how they had to help her see sense and make the right decision to how they had to help the sheriff’s pregnant teenage daughter deal with the pregnancy and help her with the baby once it was born. Isaac had endured these rants, talks, thoughts and delusion throughout their attempt to track down what had for a brief passing been their teacher, this chase ended at the same time as Isaac’s patience did.

 

`Fuck you Scott! ´ Isaac barked from where he was circling the broken gravestone of one Claudia Stilinski, and Isaac wasn’t sure how either one of them would have the heart to tell the sheriff or Stiles that the abomination of a magical misfit had seen it fit to shatter the gravestone of the one person both father and daughter still grieved over daily.

 

Scott halts the attempt, a useless attempt, to put the broken stone back together again, mouth still open but silent for once. The anger and sorrow washed out off of his face and replaced with a look of shock and hurt.

 

`You’re her best-fucking-friend Scott,´ Isaac continues voice full of anger an anger born from the thick sense of disappointment he felt over the way Scott was dealing with Stiles unhappy situation, he’d though that Scott wouldn’t be a dick about it; that he’d respect Stiles’ choice but no, no Scott was attempting to either force or guilt Stiles into having a baby that she obviously couldn’t even stand to think about, ****and all of that was wrong on so many points that Isaac wanted to rip into Scott and rearrange his insides until he could see the light of wisdom.

 

`And still you’re so oblivious to how she feels.´ Isaac can’t help the way he’s control slips and he throws one of the broken pieces of the gravestone at the Alpha, another Alpha that could kick him out of yet another home and pack for this but Isaac doesn’t care he can easily enough latch onto Stiles and take advantage of her good nature if he needs too. Isaac and Stiles might not be close friends but he knows she’ll not leave him to deal with the world alone, she’d never allow him to become a lone omega living on the streets.

 

`Having the baby would fucking destroy her Scott!´ Isaac yells while watching as Scott catches the piece with a little bit of fumbling but eyes flashing crimson at Isaac who honestly does feel the need to submit to the Alpha and beg for forgiveness, but Isaac can’t surrender to his instincts and so he stands his ground and continues, `She’s already hurting and not dealing with the shit she’s been through even before Derek and Blake, and now you think she can handle a baby on top of everything?! Are you insane? Have you been hanging around Peter Hale or what? ´

 

`Isaac.´ Scott growls in warning but Isaac just snorts at that and continues on, `She’s miserable Scott! She reeks of misery and tears. Having a bloody baby she doesn’t want is not going to change that, hell she might turn out like one of those mother’s with postpartum depression and drowning the kid in the bathtub or something, or fuck she might just blow her own fucking brains out….´ he doesn’t get to finish because suddenly he’s on the ground with Scott on top of him claws and fangs out and ready to rip Isaac to pieces.

 

`She would NEVER do that! ´ Scott roars but there’s doubt there and Isaac can hear it and see it behind the ruby-red eyes.

 

`SHE COULD!´ Isaac counters as he rolls Scott onto his back, but Scott kicks and pushes him off and so soon enough they are tossing and turning while fighting for dominance barking out their own opinions on what Stiles might or might not do, what should and shouldn’t be done. They slash and snap their fangs at each other until the loud sound of a gun going of halts them, they’re on their feet claws and fangs out and ready to rip and ruin each other breathing heavily and bleeding while Chris Argent strolls into their line of sight his gun ready to put a bullet into one of them or both. The sight of the hunter has both werewolves yanking their beasts back in and under control.

 

`Are you two boys done? ´ Mr. Argent asks while approaching them, gun still ready for use if need be. Isaac nods and so does Scott.

 

`Good.´ Mr. Argent says while his stance begins to relax ever so slightly but he keeps his gun ready none the less.

 

`So, what are you two doing out here at this time of night? ´

 

Isaac glances at Scott who quickly tells Argent how they’d been tracking Blake’s scent, a scent that had ended where a broken gravestone stood, Chris’ face hardens as he looks over at the shattered stone.

 

`And you two started ripping into each other why? ´ the hunter asks as he moves towards the grave of Claudia Stilinski.

 

`A slight disagreement of views.´ Isaac answers voice still tight and angry which earns him a growl from Scott they are both on edge, tired and angry and sure of their own opinion on things.

 

`You two should leave. Head home, get some rest.´ Chris says while crouching down at the grave of Stiles’ mother, picking up some of the broken pieces of the grave-marker and frowning at the ruined set of flowers Stiles had probably planted herself there, flowers which might have been Claudia Stilinski’s favorite ones.

 

`Maybe check-up on Stiles.´ Chris suggests as stands-up and straightens his back with a winch.

 

`Why? ´ Scott asks, the anger gone replaced with the same amount of concern Isaac was beginning to suddenly feel.

 

`This seems rather personal, ´ Chris says, his eyes moving over the area and Isaac can’t help but to follow his gaze and it takes him a moment to realize what the hunter is looking for; the graves of Victoria and Kate Argent were untouched as were the Hale’s, all the other graves as far as the eye could see were untouched by the wrath of the Darach.  

 

Isaac can’t stop the snarl that escapes him, he’d always sensed that Blake disliked Stiles but this was just going too far, and something about the whole situation made Isaac feel incredibly wary and nervous about the idea that Stiles was home with no real protection to keep her safe from the Darach.

 

`We should – we should go ´ Isaac says certain for once of what to do.

 

 `We should check-up on Stiles. Make sure she’s safe.´ Isaac says even though he’s not sure why he’s suddenly so nervous about Stiles being alone, well not alone because there’s no doubt that her father’s not leaving her side anytime soon, but she’s without a werewolf at her side and the idea makes him absolutely uneasy. Isaac doesn’t understand when he’d started to care about Stiles Stilinski the way he did.

 

Scott looks a bit like he wants to argue against leaving the chase for the Darach, but then the fairly new Alpha just nods and some of the tension in Isaac’s shoulders drains away. Isaac’s not stupid, he may not be as bright as Stiles or Lydia but he’s not stupid, and so he knows that if he arrived at the Stilinski house alone it would look strange to both Stilinski’s but if he’s got Scott with him no one would question his presence there.

 

Walking pasts the hunter Scott suddenly comes to a stop as Argent grabs him by the arm, it’s enough to cause Isaac’s hackles rise they may not be at war with the Argents but he’s still wary of them, and Scott is too much of a fool to be careful around the hunters.

 

`You know, Isaac’s right, you should allow Stiles to make her own choice without pressuring her.´ Isaac almost swallows his tongue and maybe he does make a little sound of sorts because suddenly there are two pairs of eyes on him and he really doesn’t appreciate the attention.

 

`She’ll resent you if you force her into doing anything she doesn’t want too, and trust me Scott you can’t afford to lose her as a friend.´ the hunter tells the young Alpha who yanks his arm free from the hunters hold but Isaac can tell the threat or possibility of losing Stiles doesn’t sit well with Scott and that the idea that Stiles might actually grow to hate him stays with the young Alpha who stays silent as they make their way to the Stilinski house.

 

Scott unlocks the front-door of the Stilinski house without knocking or ringing the doorbell, and Isaac feels almost like he’s breaking into the house even though Scott had opened the door with a key he held in his possession, this was all fine and normal for Scott but for Isaac just walking into this house felt odd because he’d never really been to Stiles’ house before.  

 

`Moms still here.´ Scott says voice barely above a whisper, as he closes and locks the door behind the two of them.  Isaac may not have been living with the McCall’s for very long but he has learned to recognize Melissa’s heartbeat as well as scent well enough to know Scott is right about his mother being in the Stilinski home.

 

 `I think she’s upstairs.´ there’s no thinking about it because she’s upstairs but Isaac knows Scott needs to make sure his mother is safe and there, and so Isaac just tells him to go and check on her which the Alpha does leaving Isaac to check on all the doors and windows, making sure they are all locked-up tight. The windows and doors wouldn’t keep the bitch from hell outside for long but it might buy them some time to escape if the need came.

 

Scott makes his way upstairs leaving Isaac behind to check the windows and doors and to gaze at the framed images hanging on the walls or perched on the tabletops of the Stilinski house,the greater part of these images were clearly taken before the death of Stiles’ mother and only a handful were after her demise, most of those images of happier times when Stiles mother still looked healthy and vibrant were of the three Stilinski’s smiling at the camera or just goofing around;it was a strange sight to behold for Isaac to see the Sheriff all bright smiles or twisting his face into a funny expression or dressed in some ridiculous costume for Halloween, Isaac’s own father had never dressed for Halloween or made funny-faces so seeing another strong male figure like the Sheriff doing it was a bit of an odd experience.

 

Isaac can’t stop the smile that appears on his face as he looks at one of the pictures with the Sheriff dressed like a giant Care Bear and perched on each side of his hip was Stiles and Scott both wearing Care Bear costumes too except for some reason the five-year old Stiles Stilinski was also wearing a pair of fairy-wings.

 

`Moms asleep upstairs, in Stiles’ room,´  Scott says suddenly in the living-room where Isaac was now standing taking in bits and pieces of Stiles’ and Scott’s childhoods which seemed intertwined in away Isaac could not have imagined.

 

`Care bears? ´ Isaac says without thinking giving the Alpha a look that had to be saying, “Really Scott, Care bears?”   

 

`What? ´ Scott says almost defensively but there’s a little smile and a chuckle there as well as Scott defends what had to be a love for Care Bears, ` Dude, care bears are awesome. They help, and make the world a better place.´

 

 _Well that explains it,_ Isaac thinks because of course someone like Scott would love the Care bears, he wouldn’t even be surprised if he found a hidden care bear in Scott room one day.

 

`Of course they are.´ Isaac says fighting off the desire to make fun of the Alpha, _his_ Alpha no less.

 

`Hungry? I could do with something.´ Scott says obviously trying to change the subject and direct Isaac attention to something else than the secret love for unrealistic bears. And Isaac agrees to let the subject of Care Bears and their obvious influence on Scott’s mentality go, if only for now, for the sake of finally feeding the growing hunger in his belly.

 

Scott moves around the kitchen with a strange ease and familiarity which Isaac had only witnessed when Scott was in the McCall’s own kitchen.Isaac watches, standing awkwardly near the kitchen table feeling like an intruder while the young Alpha prepares a sandwich for the both of them,the simple and rather dull cheese sandwich was served with a glass of milk. Without a word they sit down at the kitchen table that had plenty of scratches and begin to nibble on their sandwiches which were nothing like the ones Melissa made or the ones Stiles made; Isaac had always appreciated Stiles skill at making delicious sandwiches with very little ingredients, or at least he’d learned to appreciate her sandwiches ever since he’d had his first taste of her famous Stilinski-meatball-sandwich and not to forget the turkey sandwich that always made Isaac think of the ones his mother had always made after thanksgiving or Christmas using the scraps of the turkey that was left from a bird that was always a little bit too big for their small family.

 

`I’m sorry. ´ Scott says suddenly voice low and strangely sad and Isaac isn’t prepared for it especially as they had settled into the comfortable silence.

 

`It’s fine. The sandwich isn’t all that bad.´ Isaac says while taking another bite of the sandwich that honestly had no proper taste but which was slowly easing some of the hunger in Isaac’s still growling stomach.

 

`I’m not talking about the sandwich dude.´ Scott groans, dropping his own sandwich which was only a few bites away from being finished on the plate in front of him.

 

`Oh.´ is all Isaac can say before abandoning his own sandwich down as well.

 

`You really think she’s serious about the… you know.´ Scott asks while picking at the remnants of his sandwich, the slice of cheese sneaking out from between two thin slices of bread that was a little bit stale and dry which only seemed to confirm Isaac’s overall suspicion that Stiles had been anything but fine for a while now.

 

`Abortion Scott, it’s called and abortion.´ Isaac says with a sigh while trying to not become irritated with the guy across the table from him when he sees how well Scott takes the word the only way that could extract the unwanted child from her body without her having to ever deal with it growing or demanding for her attention.  

 

`And yes, yes she is.´ Isaac is certain that Stiles wants the abortion, wants it done in order to be free of the shame and burden that had come with her dealings with Derek Hale, and her trust in the born-werewolf.

 

`But what if she’ll regret it later? What if...´ Scott begins and Isaac runs his fingers through his hair in attempt to do something other than lash out at the werewolf across the table from him.

 

`She might, but forcing her to have a baby that just isn’t right at least the abortion would be Stiles choice and her choice alone.´ ****Isaac entirely sure of how much wisdom there’s behind his words or if there is any at all in them, Isaac is well aware that he’s not particularly talented at voicing even his most brilliant thoughts, but he’shoping that at least this uneasy and stumbling sentence gave Scott some food for thought.

 

`And what if she has the baby and keeps it because you talked her into it, and she just can’t find it in her to love it? ´ Isaac almost shudders at the thought of Stiles having a baby and not loving it, he can also tell that Scott wants to argue against the possibility that his best friend and as good as sister wouldn’t love her own baby but Isaac couldn’t trust simply Scott’s faith in Stiles and her ability to love; especially not after her heart had been smashed into the ground and stomped on it until it was nothing. 

 

`Would it be faire on any kid to be raised by someone who can’t find it in them to love them?´ Isaac asks while trying his hardest not to suggest Stiles was some heartless bitch because he knew Stiles wasn’t heartless not really even if she could be crude and harsh at times.

 

`Sure,´ Isaac breathes out while attempting to keep his thoughts from travelling into darker territories, `Stiles will make sure that her kid has food in its stomach and clothes on its back and toys to play with, but it’s all worthless crap if she can’t love the poor child.´ Isaac is somewhat surprised by how desperate he is when it comes to getting Scott to understand that the worst thing anyone of them could do was to push Stiles into a decision, any decision really that she didn’t make herself.

 

Scott goes absolutely pale and it’s clear he’s thinking about what Isaac has said, it’s clear that Isaac had hit a nerve of sorts and Isaac gives him the time process the words said and the possible value behind them. Isaac finishes his sandwich and glass of milk eyes passing between Scott and everything else in the room.

 

`My dad never wanted me.´ Scott says voice low and deep with sorrow causing almost Isaac to miss the words the young Alpha had spoken, and without his superior hearing Isaac would’ve missed them completely.

 

`He told me that all the time.´ Isaac wants to either reach out to hold Scott’s hand the way Stiles would’ve done but Isaac isn’t there yet emotionally to be able to touch and comfort others with ease or to find Scott’s dad and punch him in the face.

 

`I know my mom wanted me, that she loves me.´ Scott says almost as if he needs to defend his mother from the none existing judgment he seemed sure Isaac would hold against his mother, but there was none. Isaac knows deep down that Melissa loves Scott dearly, and he also knows by the way the nurse looks at Stiles that she loves her as much as she loves her son, and Isaac can admit to himself that there’s a small part of him that yearns to be cared for and loved the same way Stiles and Scott are. ****

Scott’s little and unexpected confession gives Isaac some smidge of hope that the Alpha would come to see reason on the issue of Stiles and the baby, and so with a new found hope in his heart Isaac continues to try and reason with Scott whom he would call his friend if of course someone tried to drag it out of him.

 

`But this baby might not have even that Scott, ´ Isaac says trying to keep his voice steady and calm, reasoning even, ` it wouldn’t be able to say that it knows that its mother wanted it from the start.´ ****Isaac tries to be gentle as he speaks but regardless of how gentle he is Scott ends up looking sick and absolutely haunted by the idea that little Stilinski-Hale or Hale-Stilinski would not grow-up with the same comforting knowledge with which Scott had grown-up with, Isaac feels just a little bit like a bad person for causing all the color on Scott’s face to drain away.

 

`I’m – I’m just worried that she’ll regret it.´ Scott says with an air of defeat and Isaac actually feels horrible for him because if there was one thing Isaac knew Scott would never do that was to deliberately hurt Stiles.

 

`I know.´ Isaac says, `But you _need_ to let her make her own mistakes Scott, and I’m not saying aborting the baby would be one, but you need to let her make her own decisions Scott.´ The Alpha nods, but he looks no less pale or miserable, and Isaac hates the way he’s completely useless in comforting Scott and he almost thinks about calling Stiles so she could fix Scott make him feel better.

 

There’s another moment of heavy silence during which Isaac has time to think about what might happen in the following weeks, about the abortion; Isaac wasn’t gifted with the ability to create grand delusions that could alter the way he viewed things, at least not enough to make him unaware of the reality of things, this ability to not sink into a world of fantasies made it possible for Isaac to see the threat that the two male-Hale’s could pose to Stiles. Derek wasn’t such a great threat, not really, not unless Isaac had completely misread the werewolf that had been for a brief moment his Alpha but Derek’s uncle was another thing entirely; Isaac could easily imagine how Peter Hale would abduct Stiles, keep her locked-up somewhere until the baby was born, and that thought made him feel sick to his stomach.

 

**~*~**

 

Chris Argent had been through a lot these past few days,hell the whole goddamn year or two had been a tremendous test of his ability endure trials and tribulations, and although he wanted to do was pack-up his only child and drive the hell right out of Beacon Hills he stays something in him continued to keep him in the town of sorrows.

 

And although all that Chris really wanted to do since escaping the less than desirable fate the Darach had attempted to forge for him was to lay down in his bed and rest away the weariness he felt deep down in his bones, but although the hunter wanted nothing more than ignore the rest of the world for the unforeseeable future and just spend time with his daughter he could not ignore the pull within him that demanded him to forsake his own wants and desires.

 

There’s an unpleasant twisting of his gut and a strange and relentless gnawing at his insides that cause him to feel like something wicked was coming, there was a sense of disaster looming on the dark horizon that demanded him to abandon the desired rest his body craved, Chris needs to make sure that no more lives are damaged or cut-short by yet another dark and twisted creature.

 

Chris isn’t too surprised to find Allison curled-up on the couch with Lydia Martin, if anything he’s pleased to see that if the nights events had turned out differently and in a far less favorable way for him that Allison wouldn’t have been left alone to deal with it. Both girls look surprised to see him almost as if they’d expected him to have joined his late-wife in the afterlife, but it doesn’t take long before his daughter is off of the couch and flinging herself into his awaiting arms hugging him tightly, andhe returns the hug with an equal amount of strength.

 

There’s an unfamiliar desperation in their embrace undoubtedly brought on by the realization that this might never have come to play, that perhaps if by one whisper of a different fate Allison Argent would’ve been left an orphan and Chris would lay dead underground awaiting decay to render is flesh away with Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa McCall by his side. The night could’ve so easily left two girls without their father’s although Chris had made sure to secure possible guardians for his daughter if his life were ever to end before her eighteenth birthday but that could not be said for Stiles Stilinski, sure Chris had a feeling that if anything did ever happen to John Stilinski Melissa McCall would’ve become her legal guardian but if the night had turned differently Stiles would’ve lost not only her father but Melissa as well.

 

Chris breathes in the familiar scent of his daughter’s hair and the laundry detergent they’ve used for years, and he wants to break down and just allow the façade he’d built for himself to crack and break while the thoughts of how easily and close he’d become to losing the chance of seeing his daughter grow into the powerful woman he knew her capable of becoming; but regardless of close they’d come to be separated by death, Chris knows he can’t surrender to tears or the want to stop chasing after the danger that lurked outside the walls of their home for tears for he has a job to do and an oath to keep.

 

Chris hugs his daughter, kisses the top of her head before pulling away, distancing himself from his only child who looks hurt and shocked by how quickly he breaks free from her and how he walks away without a word, he hears her call out after him but he doesn’t pause and she does not follow him. Regardless of what he wants, regardless of what Allison might want, he has a job to do.

 

He takes a quick shower, barely washing away the dirt and dust that had attached itself upon his skin. Chris changes his clothes and arms himself for a possible confrontation with both werewolves and the bitch that had snatched him up and tied him down underground to wait for a death that never came; she’d made him sit and wait for death, left him to think of how he would never see his daughter graduate high school or get married and building her own family.

 

Chris is tired, he’d like nothing more than to just drop down on his bed and sleep, but there’s this dark dread within him, it’s a whisper that sounds so very much like his late-wife’s voice warning him that the Darach wasn’t done yet with this little town of disaster and grief, the voice warning him that the dark and twisted creature of a female had something still up her sleeve, advising Chris not to rest until the threat was gone for good.

 

Leaving his bedroom and grabbing the jacket that had been Victoria’s last Christmas gift to him, Chris turns towards his only child and although he can tell by just one look that his departure is a shock and an unwanted revelation to Allison he says with a firm and unwavering voice, `I need you to stay here. Lock the door, put the security system on.´

 

`Don’t go.´ his daughter says, grasping at his arm and there’s a look in her eyes that screams _please don’t go._ It’s painful for him to look at her and Chris regrets glancing at his daughter because she’s almost got him staying in for the rest of the night.

 

`I need to go. There’s something out there that can still hurt a lot of people.´ he says feeling like a crook for having to leave Allison when it’s clear that it’s the last thing she wants.

 

`Derek and the others can deal with it.´ Allison snaps as he begins to move towards the door, car keys in hand, she sounds so very much like the little girl Chris had once carried on his shoulders and pushed on a swing and who would snap and pout until she got exactly what she wanted.

 

Chris would love nothing more than to be able to trustthe werewolves to deal with the damn threat that loomed over of all of their heads, but Chris knows better especially after seeing the weakness in Hale’s eyes at the vet clinic and Scott and Isaac were hardly anything more than untrained pups; there’s no one but himself he can trust to deal with the Darach, to protect the people of Beacon Hills.

 

`Hale’s got other things on his mind than chasing after the Darach.´the hunter says while he attempts to create some much needed distance between him and Allison, but she’s not willing to let him leave without a fight. She grabs him by his arm in a demand for him to stop trying to leave.

 

`So – so because Stiles got herself pregnant you have to go out there and... ´ Allison doesn’t get to finish her statement before Chris snaps at her, and he is slightly surprised by his own rage at the complete sense of loathing his daughter seemed to hold towards Stiles and the accidental pregnancy that could possibly ruin the bright girl’s future.

 

` Allison! ´ his daughter jumps a little and he would feel bad about it if he hadn’t heard Lydia snort out, `Stupid Stilinski.´

 

`I thought the three of you were friends.´ Chris says eyeing the two girls who are looking at him like he’s an alien, `What if you’d instead of judging and treating Stiles Stilinski like someone who’s stupid or caught the plague, ´ he doesn’t keep his anger out of his voice as he speaks, `think about how to support and help her, because I swear that girl is anything but happy about her situation and does not need judgment from anyone.´

 

Chris is almost at the door when he turns to glare at the two girls that haven’t moved an inch from the spot they had paused in when he’d turned around to snarl at them, both wearing a pair of Allison’s PJ’s.

 

`And trust me this pregnancy isn’t something Stiles had planned on or wanted for that matter, if anything it’s unwanted and there are already far too many people trying to force her to keep it when she doesn’t want it.´ Chris knows the nature of werewolves, he understands the way the bond of family runs deep beneath their skins and the pure instinct to protect the family was stronger than anything else and so Chris knows that the Hale’s would so _anything_ to keep the baby safe even from Stiles herself.

 

`And the last thing Hale is think about at the moment is the Darach, ´ Chris says with a whisper of anger in his voice, `all he’s thinking about now is to make sure Stiles has his baby that she doesn’t abort it as I have been told she wants to do.´ Lydia appearance pensive while Allison’s eyes widen and it’s clear to her father that she hadn’t thought Stiles would choose abortion instead of birthing the child and becoming just another teenage mom.

 

` And if either one of you think Scott and Isaac can handle facing the Darach on their own, well then you two have far more faith in them than I have.´ and with those words he leaves, he does not say a word of goodbye to his daughter or her friend mostly because he has no intention of not returning home to see that Allison had slipped off her high-horse for he and Victoria had raised their daughter better than that.  

 

Chris slips inside his car and starts driving aimlessly around Beacon Hills trying to find a hide or hair of the werewolves he knows are tracking the sorceress that had once had the power to do good but turned and twisted her knowledge into something dark and unforgiving, ****he needs at least one of the werewolves to track the Darach which is slightly irritating of course. Chris isn’t expecting to be guided to the doorstep of the woman who’d twisted her own powers into something disgustingly dark and corrupt, but he hopes there would be clues along the track to guide him towards her next desperate act to save herself and he knows he will attempt something to gain more power for he’s seen her desire for it in her eyes; and hunger for power held now end. ****

Chris is surprised when he finds Stiles Jeep parked outside of the gates of the cemetery where his own wife and sister lay buried beneath the cold ground, he’s more than certain that Stiles wouldn’t be pleased to learn that her precious Jeep had been left unattended with its doors left open and if McCall was driving then the keys were probably left in the ignition.

 

Chris parked his own car behind the familiar blue jeep and before making his way into the graveyard he checked the jeep and indeed the keys were there in the ignition. If times were less sever the hunter would’ve gladly driven the familiar vehicle down the street just to teach the werewolf a lesson, but the times weren’t the sorts that would allow such childish pranks to be played out, but there’s still a part of Chris that does sort of hope that someone would come by the Jeep and just drive off with it just to teach Scott a lesson in taking care of things properly; and perhaps a small part of the hunter wished that the disappearance of the jeep and the heavy onset of hormones would drive Stiles to physically harm Scott.

 

It had been awhile since Chris walked across the patch of land that was reserved for the dead with a price of course, he walks with steady and cautious steps, mind and body alert for any possible threats that might come jumping out at him but nothing came at him, instead what he heard and saw were two young werewolves going at each other as though they were enemies.

 

Chris could’ve easily allowed the two to battle it out and see if he had to put one of them down or both if one of them did end-up killing the other but such a thing was something his father would’ve done and Chris refused to become his father and so he fires one single shot into the night snapping the two werewolves off of each other.

 

The hunter in Chris keeps the gun he’s holding poised and ready, it’s a simple insurance of his life not ending by these young pups, he keeps an eye on the two wolves which do not seem all that willing to attack him as he’d thought they would.

 

`Are you two boys done? ´ Chris asks while cautiously approaching the two young werewolves both bitten by a Hale, one by the uncle and the other by the nephew and neither one of the male-Hale’s had proved themselves capable at the role of the Alpha then again before Peter there hadn’t been a male Alpha in the Hale pack before not at least to Chris’ knowledge; which wasn’t all that unusual when it came to werewolf packs built around families.

 

There’s an agreeable but perhaps slightly tens nods from both Lahey and McCall both still bleeding but slowly healing, Scott just a little bit faster than Lahey which almost as Chris’ eyebrow rising but the hunter choose to ignore this little oddity.

 

`Good.´ Chris may not be entirely trusting when it comes to these two young wolves, but he’s still somewhat less worried about being mauled by them at the moment and more concerned about the Darach doing some more wicked little deeds to screw with their heads and families.

 

`So, what are you two doing out here at this time of night?´ Chris asks, there’s no reason for him to tell either werewolf that he’s been searching for them for the better part of an hour, there’s no reason for him to reveal that he might actually need some help from the creatures his father and sister would’ve happily put down as soon as their eyes had caught sight of them; one by burning them alive the other by cutting their bodies in half with the heavy blade both Chris and Kate had been trained to wield with horrific accuracy.

 

Sure, there was a small part of Chris that wanted to put a bullet through both of Scott McCall’s knees, and the hunter isn’t entirely convinced this desire wouldn’t be there even if the boy was 100% of the human species.

 

It doesn’t take long before Scott spills the beans confirming what Chris had already suspected that the two boys were up too, however the destruction of the undoubtedly carefully chosen slab of stone marking the final resting place of one Claudia Stilinski wife of John Stilinski a man Chris had grown to know and respect a great deal was however a surprise to the hunter. The information of the complete disregard of a persons’ final resting place didn’t sit well with Chris Argent.  

 

`And you two started ripping into each other why? ´ Chris asks while heading towards the direction of the grave he’d caught the sheriff as well as Stiles visiting in the past.

 

Chris had seen Stiles seated on the grave of her mother talking as if the woman was right there with her, laughing with Stiles and comforting her when sadness gripped at the young heart. Chris had seen the Sheriff stand close to the headstone with the hand that held the ring which symbolized the promise union everlasting resting against the stone that held the name of the woman that had left a permanent sorrow on the sheriff as she departed the world of the living, he’s seen the man stand there head-bowed no words said **.**

 

 

`A slight disagreement of views.´ Isaac quickly replies voice tight and angry, even without the growl from McCall it was clear to the hunter that whatever disagreement had spurred on the drawing of blood had not been settled as of yet which was slightly worrisome considering how this was hardly the place for creatures with superhuman strength to battle it out.

 

`You two should leave.´ Chris says the last thing he needs is two sleep deprived teenagers going at one another like old-enemies and breaking a few more headstones and upsetting more families than just the Stilinski’s. Chris crouches down in front of the headstone and he begins inspect the damage done to the gravestone that lay in ruins, he does this while keeping a blank expression on his face.

 

`Head home, get some rest.´ the advice is sound and he knows it even if Chris is terrible at following his own advice.He picks up a piece of stone that felt surprisingly heavy in his hand as if the woman beneath his feet sensed the injustice she’d suffered or perhaps even the one her daughter had been made to endure.The stone upon which the name Claudia Stilinski had been carved into was not the only thing the Darach had seen fit to ruin, even the delicate and colorful flowers which had possibly been planted by Stiles Stilinski herself, Chris had witnessed Stiles tending to the now trampled flowers with care while talking to the woman bellow them their petals scattered and crumbled on the ground at his feet seemed for some reason to mirror all the tears Stiles had shed at this very site.

 

`Maybe check on Stiles.´ Chris struggles with not simply ordering the two wolves to go straight over to the Stilinski house and stay there with her, to demand them to make sure the girl pregnant with an unexpected Hale was indeed safe for he fears she is not. There’s a brief flash of a memory of Allison and Lydia talking in the kitchen about how their new teacher seemed to always glare at Stiles when she thought no one was looking.

 

`Why?´ Scott asks voice no longer laced with bitter anger but concern, dragging Chris away from the memory that was not all that necessary to relive.

 

`This seems rather personal, ´ Chris says, standing-up and looking around to confirm his suspicions. From where he was standing he could see Victoria’s grave as well as the Hale’s and they were all untouched, intact and undisturbed while the Stilinski grave had been broken beyond repair; ****Chris’ may not know young Stiles Stilinski well but he does know her well enough to understand that this dishonorable act against her mother would break her young heart, and possibly devastate her even further.

 

`We should, ´ the Lahey kid says sounding so confident of what to do, face hard with resolve, `We should go.´ Chris isn’t as sure of the nature of the relationship between Stiles and Isaac as he is of the one between her and Scott, and therefor he’s not entirely certain what to make of Isaac’s eagerness to return to Stiles side.

 

`We should check-up on Stiles.´ Isaac says and Chris watches the way the young werewolf closely while trying to assess the nature of the relationship between Stiles and Isaac Lahey if Stiles had still been in a relationship with Derek and if Isaac had still been his beta then things would’ve been much simpler to decipher, but as things were it was difficult and Chris had no idea of what to make of Isaac and Stiles.

 

`Make sure she’s safe.´ Isaac says while moving restlessly where he stands, and Chris wonders if he should give the sheriff a heads-up on another possible werewolf sniffing around the pregnant teenager or perhaps just take the boy to the side and explain to the boy how bad things could turn-out for Isaac if he started anything with Stiles when it was clear Derek was still hung-up on her.

 

Scott seems almost ready to argue against Isaac’s suggestion of action, but then to Chris’ delight the kid that had been dating his daughter on and off gave a nod which seemed to be the final and last thing needed to ease some of the anxious tension from Isaac’s broad shoulders. ****As the two wolves begin to move to leave the grounds loyal to the dead Chris decides to give Scott some much needed advise whether the kid wanted it or not and so without warning the hunter latches on to the arm of the young male that even his own daughter considered to be Stiles brother.

 

`You know, ´ Chris begins ignoring the shocked and questioning look on Scott’s face, `Isaac’s right, you should allow Stiles to make her own choices without pressuring her.´ He can tell immediately that the young male wants to argue with him, and so he steams on, `She’ll resent you if you force her into doing anything she doesn’t want too, and trust me Scott you can’t afford to lose her as a friend.´ ****

Scott yanks his arm free from his hold, there’s a look of brief anger in those eyes that flash crimson, a color that surprises Chris enough to stagger back a little, but before Chris can say or ask anything regarding to this change the young Alpha walks off leaving Chris even more worried than before.

 

**~*~**

 

Isaac hadn’t started out spending the night in Stiles bedroom unlike Scott, he’d given the Stilinski couch a chance as well as the TV until he just couldn’t stand the silence that surrounded him, and so he abandoned the first floor for the second one deciding that he should keep watch with Scott instead of all alone downstairs in the living-room or the kitchen.Isaac was admittedly startled by the sight of the gun abandoned on a small scratched-up table in the narrow hall by the stairs, in all honesty Isaac loathes guns and frankly crossbows too, hell he hates anything that can hurt him, he passes the gun and makes his way towards the direction of Stiles’ bedroom and slips into the bedroom as silently as a ghost. Isaac hadn’t been all that surprised to find Stiles sandwiched between her father and Scott’s mother, and he’d been even less surprised to find Scott sleeping in Stiles desk chair, what had however surprised was the fact that the young Alpha hadn’t reacted the slightest to his presence in the room; ****Derek had always startled awake whenever Isaac had dared to move around whatever whole or dump they had been sleeping in, but then again Derek had never seemed very relaxed around anyone. ****

There had been a small part of the werewolf that had wanted nothing more than to startle Scott awake but the fear of getting his throat slashed thwarted that desire faster than the idea had leaped into his mind, ****and so in the end Isaac had made his way further into the room without disturbing the new Alpha of Beacon Hills, and with a light sigh he slipped down onto the floor by the bed and close to the window he knew Derek had used more than once to enter and exit the house.

 

Isaac hadn’t intended to fall asleep but with the soft breathing of peacefully sleeping people, people Isaac might have grown to trust far more than he’d trusted his own father, the battle against sleep ended far too easily and his peaceful slumber was broken by the sudden thud that came from the direction of the bed and the door leading to the hall. Isaac’s instincts scream danger and so he leaps up prepared to protect and defend those weaker than him, but in the end there was no threat because the thud came from the sheriff falling out of bed that had become rather empty from its occupants.

 

There was a moment when Isaac doubted what to do as Stiles returned to apologizing for nothing really, but with some guidance from the sheriff who in all honesty might be the best of men Isaac had ever come across in his life. Isaac left the room as fast as he possibly could without tripping on his own feet, closing the door behind him as he leaves trying to ignore the way his heart clenches at the desperation and sadness that comes off of Stiles.

 

 _She doesn’t deserve this,_ Isaac thinks and not for the first time walking away from the room where he’d slept so well even if he’d been sleeping on the floor. If he could Isaac would make the past few months none existing, he’d change it all to make sure that Stiles didn’t need to apologize to her dad, that her heart wasn’t broken by one Derek Hale, that she could’ve continued on being the strong and sarcastic bitch she’d been to him in the beginning. But Isaac can’t do anything to change what had already happened, he simply doesn’t have the power change anything.

 

Isaac sighs before he heads into the small bathroom that seemed to mainly be used by the younger Stilinskiwhich makes him feel incredibly awkward especially as there was a pair of panties on the tiled floor,a pair of panties that were without a doubt Stiles and seeing them even though they did not arouse him the slightest still made him feel like a pervert for some reason, and another part of him was absolutely worried about being caught eyeing Stiles under-garments even though there was nothing sexual about it. The longer he looked at the little piece of fabric to more guilty Isaac felt, and the guiltier he felt the more uncomfortable Isaac becomes.

 

Never before had he felt so incredibly uncomfortable in a bathroom so much so that his bladder suddenly decides that it’s fine and dandy as it is, the pressure there unnoticeable suddenly. Isaac turned his attention away from the toilet and focused it towards the small sink washing his face with cold water which he hopes will soothed his burning cheeks and wash away the exhaustion and anxiety he was still experiencing. ****Isaac gives his reflection a moment of attention, by the assistance of the large mirror he is able to tell that there were no bruises where there should be if Isaac had ignored Derek’s offering of strength, protection and family. If it wasn’t for the grass-stains and torn sleeve as well as the rips and bloodstains that littered the clothes he’s wearing, without all of these solid evidences of s fight that had taken place hours ago then no one would be none the wiser of that had happened between him and Scott.

 

Isaac takes his time washing away the dried blood before walking out of the small bathroom just in time to see the sheriff vanish back into his own room the gun that had been abandoned with him, and the knowledge that the sheriff had the control of the gun once more eased some of Isaac’s worries.

 

Isaac  moves towards the bedroom door with the intent of checking-up on the girl who was now pregnant with Derek Hale’s child, but he doesn’t knock or pushes the door open to check on her because what could he really say to her or do for her? Isaac was perfectly useless at the moment and so he backed away from the door and decided to head downstairs to join the two McCall’s in the kitchen.

 

He’s a few steps away from the kitchen, he can hear the way Melissa’s talkingwith Scott as well as hearing the Sheriff coming down the stairs, when the loud and desperate screams erupted from Stiles the sound was enough to have each and every one who was there in the Stilinski to care for her rushed towards the direction of the loud screams of, `Get out. Leave. Go away.´

 

With fear, panic and anger in their hearts each and every one of them raced upstairs, listening to Stiles screams while imagining all the different things that could cause her to scream in such away on the top of Isaac’s list was the Darach and then close second a member of the Alpha Pack and third Derek or Peter Hale. They scramble upstairs, Isaac up at front for the greater part of the journey but by the time the reach the bedroom door of one Stiles Stilinski Scott McCall was at the front screaming for the girl he openly called his sister. There was panic in the air as they rushed into the bedroom where they had all spent the night in.

 

What they found in the small bedroom was one which pleased none of them. Derek Hale was there in that small room where they had all slept for a few hours, the werewolf had tears in his eyes and a look of pure desperation on his face, to Isaac his former Alpha seemed devastated and small but none of it was enough to cause the rage in Isaac to vanish; for the disheveled look and the way Stiles continued to cry and scream while fighting against the strong body wrapped around her and trapping her against her will did not sit well with Isaac who was not comfortable with anyone being forced into anything these days; and perhaps he’s grown a little bit closer to Stiles than what he’d expected and maybe that’s the reason his control slips at the sobbed out words of, `Let me go´ that fall from Stiles’ lips.

 


	22. Swelling Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s a special kind of torture in know that you’re the reason why the one you love is shattered and broken the one you loved, there’s a special kind of torture in knowing that you are the reason the one you love has fallen apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we go the whole Stiles and Derek in the same room, thing which isn't all that bloody brilliant because I'm a horrible person. Yes, I'm evil you can ask my dog because he sure as hell is convinced it's my fault that there aren't people around for out walks.   
> We've also got a little bit of Derek getting his ass kicked.  
> Oh and yes I get it if you all hate the Derek victim thing. There’s a slightly feral Derek, but only slightly like it's the size of a microbe. Oh and please don’t kill me for the whole “Stiles being clearly confused”.   
> What else should I say sorry about? Oh yes sorry about the long wait, it's a hectic time of the year for me at the moment so sorry loves.

 

She’s been crying. Derek can tell she’s been crying he can smell the old as well as the fresh tears Stiles had wept even before he’s reached the familiar window through which he’d slipped through numerous of times before.The stench of bitterness, self-loathing and deep rooted sadness was enough to cause Derek’s heart to ache for he knows he is to blame for the emotional turmoil Stiles was experiencing.It hurts to know that he is the cause of her distress, and as he waits for the sheriff to leave Stiles to give him an opportunity to speak to the young woman who had managed to break through all the walls he’d built after Kate, he can’t help the whimpers at escape when he hears Stiles speak of her pregnancy as something wrong; it pains him to hear Stiles think of their baby as something shameful and unwanted.

 

Derek waits for the sheriff to leave, his heart breaking in a completely new way as he comes to realize how deep Stiles self-loathing had become with his betrayal and her unplanned pregnancy. It’s difficult for him to just sit and wait for the father of the girl he’d unintentional impregnated but with whom he still wished to build a family with, it’s a trial of patience and strength of will and survival for Derek to remain there outside the window while listening to the way his beloved cried out her unreasonable guilt and shame; he wishes he could turn back the hands of time so that the moment when the news of the wonderful little life growing within Stiles’ incredibly strong body was given as well as received with the air of joy it deserved instead of the distress and shame it had been tainted with, that the tears spilled had been those derived from joy, Derek wished that he could travel back in time so that he did not have to watch Stiles feel so disgusted with herself.

 

The werewolf waits, and suffers as silently as it possibly can.

 

The Sheriff leaves sooner rather than later leaving what is a seemingly composed Stile with a gentle and loving kiss on the top of her clever head, it’s a kiss full of fatherly love; it’s a promise of unwavering affection. The father leaves his daughter who appears to have accepted his comforting words and swallowed them whole heartedly but Derek knows better than to believe the way Stiles smiles and nods, he’s seen her like this more times than he cares to recall she’s an actress when it comes to revealing her sorrows or weakness;he’s seen her stand all proud and strong numerous of times wearing a bemused smiles and wielding her sharp tongue while her heartbreaks or when fear soaks itself deeply into her bone, he’s heard her laugh as though the cruel and hurtful words were a wonderful joke meant to bring laughter and joy to her heart although the stench of sadness explodes from her pores, he knows it’s all a learned part of an act the girl had probably learned to play without hesitation or doubt since the death of her beloved mother if not even before Claudia Stilinski’s passing.

 

Derek can still recall the first time he’d found out that Stiles didn’t reveal how fragile her heart was to cruel words or self-doubt, he would never forget the way she’d snapped at him when he’d dared to suggest it was alright for her to cry the way she screamed at him about how he was one to talk before pulling up her shields and apologizing; it took three more incidences like it before she finally allowed him to see behind the walls she’d build to keep Scott and her father from worrying about her and how she was doing, and when she allowed him to see this side of herself he gave her the same privilege. 

 

Derek hears the man tell his daughter that he loves her no matter what had and might happen. The unwavering promise gives birth to a fragile hope that all might not be lost when it came to Sheriff Stilinski’s support when it came to Stiles keeping their baby.Derek hears Stiles tell her dad that she loves him and he hears her lie successfully that she was fine, Derek can’t help but frown over how unbelievable skillful she was at speaking these sorts of white little lies to those she cared and loved for; it’s evident to him that years of “I’m fine” and “everything’s good” had forged these words into a lie that seemed almost watertight to even him if he wasn’t so aware of her lies. 

 

Stiles sits at the foot of her bed keeping her tears away for as long as it takes for her father to leave her and close the door between them, she keeps her façade up until the man who’d devoted a greater part of his life to protect and serve others and who’d perhaps due to that devotion neglecting his daughter was a few steps away from the door. As soon as she’s certain it’s safe for her to cry once more she pulls her pillow to her and with her face buried into the softness of a pillow she never shared with others, she begins to expel the tears that Derek knows have been burning behind her eyes.

 

Seeing her break down has never been easy for him, not even when he was allowed to witness it with his arms wrapped around her. 

 

Derek feels his heart flutter as his opens the window and slips into the room where he’d spent many an hour watching Stiles, this space had once held the scent of the wonderful youth who’d slipped past every single barrier Derek had raised after Paige and Kate but now that once comforting scent that made him feel safe was tainted with bitterness and the salty residue of tears she’d spilt due to his mistakes. He slips into the room without even thinking about announcing his arrival to the girl who sat on her bed crying into her pillow which not only served to soak up her tears but also to drown her loud sobs. 

 

Without thinking even for a second whether or not she’d accept his comfort or not Derek moves towards the bed on which he’d slept more than once, he doesn’t hesitate even when knowing how she’s refused to see or to speak to him since he’d lost his sanity and took another woman into his bed, without double guessing his action and the possible outcome of it all Derek Hale makes his way over to the crying girl whom he’d fallen for so hard that it had left him lightheaded and confused;since Kate he’d been unable to feel anything but suspicion and anger towards the female population and since the woman that had burned his family to the ground Derek hadn’t had the courage to trust another human being as much as he’d grown to trust Stiles Stilinski,since Kate and before Stiles Derek had been a living-breathing emotional-cripple who had sex with random strangers when it had fancied him but when Stiles slipped into his life he’d fallen in love a little and at the same time a lot every day she was around him until he couldn’t have imagined a day without her. 

 

But Jennifer Blake had slipped between them and wrought unforgivable havoc and pain, and Derek would if the chance came rip the woman apart and feed her the dark twisted piece that had to be her heart. 

 

His heart aches, bleeds with every sob that shakes her fragile frame,Derek knows he is the cause of her grief and suffering for it was he who had snapped that fragile confidence he’d helped build within her frame with the months they’d spent together open and honest.There’s a special kind of torture in knowing that you’ve shattered someone you loved someone who’d loved you with their entirely heart,there’s a special kind of agony in the knowledge that you are the one who broke the spirit and heart you’d sworn to yourself a hundred times you would nurture and protect, Derek feels ill beyond compare as he realizes how he is the reason for Stiles decline from the confident young woman he’d helped to raise from the pit of self-doubt and low-self-esteem;he feels like he’s slowly sinking, crumbling like one of those odd but delicious little pastries Stiles had baked for him during the nights she was unable to sleep, and he wishes he could undo the worst thing he could’ve done to her but the werewolf knowshe can’t turn back the hands of time no matter what he did or tried to do, Derek can only hope to mend her broken heart in the future much like she’d done to him; with every little act of kindness she’d shown him even when he hadn’t deserved itStiles Stilinski undid some of the damage Kate Argent had caused. 

 

Derek kneels down before the girl he’d imagined he’d go down on one knee for one day with a ring to presentand simple words asking for her to stay with him until the flickering flame of life dimmed and died.He’s unhesitant as he reaches out towards her, he doesn’t think twice as he wraps his arms around the body he’d curled protectively around at night more than once, Derek holds her tightly his own tears beginning to break free because he can feel the bleakness of her heart suddenly and the hopelessness she’s experiencing and it breaks him just a little bit more because this is not what he’d wished for her ever not even when he’d barely been able to tolerate being near her for a minute;he’d wanted from the first day he realized he could not chase her away because she was far too stubborn to leave anyone in the ditch to deal with the harshness of an unkind world, Derek had wished for her to smile instead of frowning or crying and from the very first gentle touch she bestowed upon him he’d hoped for her a life free from grief or self-doubt, he’d wished to hear her laugh and just be the bright light in his gloomy world from the very first time she revealed her pure and loud laughter that was as real as his love for her was.

 

Stiles allows him to hold her the way she’d done many times before when someone or something had upset her to the point of crying,holding her feels absolutely natural to him and she accepts his comfort easily and it calms some of the ache and worries inside him. **** Derek holds Stiles close, he holds her tightly and silently for at least a few minutes and she clutches at the fabric of his Henley with the same desperation she had shown her pillow and before that her father. Derek allows himself to nuzzle Stiles neck, to scent her.

 

Derek takes a moment to enjoy the closeness he’d missed before finally breaking the silence between them his voice is low and soft. He uses words designed comfort his distraught beauty, he speaks words full of promises he’d made before everything crumbled around them; it’s as if though his voice breaks the spell of acceptance that had held the sheriff’s daughter.

 

Derek isn’t stupid enough not to realize by the way Stiles goes absolutely rigid in his arms the second he speaks that she hadn’t been aware who it was that had come to comfort her,and wasn’t that just a slap in the face to the werewolf who knew every beautiful inch of Stiles Stilinski,Derek knew her better than he knew himself he knew the beautiful sounds she made when she was happy or satisfied and the tightness of her voice when she was angry or simply irritated; in the beginning of their peculiar relationship Derek’s desire to know the ins and outs of the sheriff’s daughter who simply refused to abandon her newly bitten werewolf friend no matter how he or the Argent’s threatened her,his desire to know the inner workings of this curious girl was due to his suspicions that she might just be another Kate Argent waiting to burn him to the ground, but as he grew to know her the reason behind Derek’s desire to know Stiles Stilinski and her quirks changed. 

 

Stiles had stopped crying the very second he’d opened his mouth speak and it was as though she even stopped breathing.She’s still and silent for a minute, a minute during which Derek speaks out one promise after another, one pleading word after another. Derek speaks for once more than he’s ever dared to do because he knows what’s on the line. 

 

`I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Stiles. I hate the way you’re hurting all because of her. She used me Stiles.Iswear on my life that _she_ meant nothing to me, nothing.I- I don’t even know how it happened, I swear on my life baby, I have no idea what happened why I thought I loved her because I don’t – I never loved her, never did – I love you, only you. I love you, I love you Stiles, I love you so much baby that it hurts when I can’t be around you – when you’re not around.I miss you so much Stiles, I miss everything about you. I hate not being near you, I hate this silence.´ 

 

Derek can’t help the way his voice cracks and trembles, he can’t fight the tears that have started to make their undesirable escape, but then again he doesn’t care if Stiles sees how much he needs her or how much the distance between them had tortured him. He doesn’t care if she sees how much their separation had hurt him or how much he missed and needed her, how lonely and broken he was without her. Derek doesn’t care for his pride because if his tears can bring Stiles back to him he will spill them all at her feet. 

 

There’s a part of him that hopes that these tears and his fragile voice will be enough to convince Stiles that he wasn’t fully to blame for what had happened between him and Jennifer, perhaps with enough tears and the shattering of his stoic nature Stiles would find it in her to forgive him and see he was as much as a victim of Jennifer Blake as she’d been. 

 

Perhaps if he cried and begged her this time she might be able to release the anger just enough to forgive him, and maybe she’d wake-up to see past her anger and forgive him andto allow them to hold each other until the pain was washed away like a golden-leaf of autumn in the waters of a river ever flowing. 

 

Maybe if he cried hard enough she would let him hold her, let him stay, to allow them to be what he knew that they were supposed to be. 

 

` Baby I love you and I swear to you – Stiles, I promise - I will spend the rest of my life proving to you how much I love you,´ and he would, he would prove to her everyday how much he loved her, and Derek would die trying to convince Stiles of how much he did and had always loved her. 

 

`I love you, I love you so much,´ Derek holds her just a little bit tighter hoping that through some unforeseen power the truthfulness of his words would seep through his body and into hers so she could tell he wasn't just saying all of this for show, that it was all true.

 

`You have no idea how – no idea how terrifying it was seeing you dead, gone. There was no heartbeat, you were so cold Stiles, so lifeless and still. God, Stiles,I thought, I thought…´he can’t even say it, he can’t voice even the idea that Stiles would be dead and gone, that she’d be placed beneath the same cold ground under which the last remnants of his own family lay, just the idea that there wouldn’t be a walking, talking, breathing Stiles somewhere on earth was such a devastating thought to him that Derek chose to ignore it once more because there’s also that horrific thought at the back of his mind that maybe this was all just a dream;that when he wakes-up the reality is much different and far more unforgiving, that when he wakes-up there would only be deep grief and indescribable sorrow when the reality was one where both his mate and child lay dead on a cold slab in the morgue or even inside a coffin underground.No, no Derek couldn’t continue on this line of hear wrenching thoughts for he needed to focus on Stiles, needed to make her see and understand how much he loved her and needed her, how sorry he was over everything that had happened;he needed to make Stiles see, to understand that he couldn’t be held responsible for what Jennifer Blake had done to them, that he hadn’t been entirely in control of his own mind or body for that matter.

 

`I will earn your love and forgiveness.I’ll never make you regret forgiving me – I swear Stiles, I swear you will _never_ regret it. **** There will never be a day, never a day, when I won’t show you how much I love you or how grateful I’m over your forgiveness. ´ And Derek would, he would spend the rest of his life kneeling at the shrine of Stiles Stilinski if only she forgave him. **** Derek would be hers and only hers faithfully till their dying day, he would care for her and their child/children without any complaints if only she accepted him back into her embrace. ****

 

Derek would mend her, undo the damage he’d done if only she’d let him, and it seemed to the werewolf that Stiles was willing to do just that for she had stopped crying the moment he’d begun to speak and she’d said nothing or fought his hold on her; she was silent and still and he took it as a sign to continue speaking.

 

`I promise you baby, I’ll do anything you want me to do. I just want us back together again. I’m desperate to have you and the baby…´ but before he can finish that statement of promises of forever love and loyalty Stiles starts screaming and pushing at his chest, but even with the screaming and the pushing becoming clawing Derek can’t let her go, not before she stops not before sees how sorry he is, not before she forgives him. 

 

`Stiles, please, ´ Derek pleads locking her into his embrace which causes her to scream as if he’s murdering her just by holding her, which was strange considering how there had been a time, a time not too long ago, when Stiles would’ve pestered him until he held her tightly in his arms and once she’d achieved that much the demand for light and gentle kiss’ were whined and whimpered into life. And by the Gods how he missed her demands for his attention, his affection, and how he missed being able to provide her with all she desired off of him. 

 

Stiles’ screams are loud and the sound isalmost enough to cause Derek’s ears to bleed and still it’s not nearly enough to cause him to release his hold of her because the more Stiles screams the more he fears that this will be last time he gets to hold her.While she screams for what some might call freedom Derek only tightens his hold and mumbles out his weak protests into the crook of her neck, he’s simply unable to let her go because he’s spent days already without her.

 

There had been a time when being held by him would’ve brought Stiles out of a panic attack or bring her out of the pits of self-loathing when she’d compared herself to the likes of Lydia and Allison as well as Erica, and that is why he hopes that eventually Stiles would calm down while he held her because all this screaming and crying couldn’t be good for either her or the baby. 

 

Stiles’ screaming is most likely the reason why he doesn’t hear the other’s inside the Stilinski house rushing up the stairs and into the room, of course he’d been aware of the fact that he and Stiles weren’t alone in the house and yet in that moment when she began to scream it didn’t entirely register in his mind that anyone might come to her rescue which was strange considering how he’d drilled into his betas’ heads the importance of keeping Stiles safe; not that Erica had understood it well in the beginning, and neither had Isaac considering how Stiles had been snatched-up by the hopefully dead or slowly dying in pure agony in some godforsaken hellhole Gerard Argent. Just the thought of what could’ve happen to Stiles that night when the older Argent had taken her and beat her always caused Derek to seek Stiles, to see her alive and breathing for he knew that nothing was off-limits when it came to Gerard and Kate’s madness and thirst for blood and destruction. 

 

It’s the loud growl and the quickly followed roar that alerts him to the fact that they were no longer alone, that they are now in unwanted company, Derek hears his former beta demand him to release Stiles, the werewolf doesn’t miss the way the sheriff snarls out, `That’s it. That’s the fucking it.´ And yet although there’s a part of Derek that understood it would be wise to release the woman he loved and would cherish till death did them part, but there was another part of him which refused to let go whether it be the more animalistic side of him or the more human side he could not tell the difference if there really ever had been one to speak of, all he knew was the very possible risk that if he let go of Stiles now it would be an unreasonable amount of time before he would be able to hold her again. 

 

`I’m sorry,´ is all he’s able to say even though he knowsthe apology which was directed to more than just one person in the roomwas weak at best and probably went straight over the heads of everyone else in the room except for Stiles.The growls and snarls that erupt while he traps Stiles closer to him, those sounds of protests and demands did nothing to stop Derek from burying his face into Stiles’ neck. 

 

`Let me go.´ Stiles half-croaks and half-sobs, her hands pushing at his chest weakly as if she either no longer wants to escape him or he’s slowly wearing her down but regardless of which it was all Derek can do is to speak the truth that might do nothing to slay her despair and want to escape. 

 

`I can’t. I’m sorry. I can’t. ´

 

Derek doesn’t see it coming although he knows he should for he too would not stand for anyone treating his Stiles like this,and if anything he should’ve at least heard the two approaching werewolves but he doesn’t for he is too preoccupied in refreshing his words of explanations and apologies,it’s only when a pair of hands grasp at his wrists squeezing them hard enough the break bone and another set latching onto his shoulders hard that Derek realizes what’s happening;he’s being forced away from his mate, his love, his future. 

 

There’s something terrifying feral that snaps free within him, and even with both of his wrists broken he attacks with the ferocity of someone unwilling to tolerate the forced separation from his beautiful mate. The idea of being unable to see or touch his mate never again, to be separated from his mate and child is what fuels his anger and he begins to swipe his claws at those who dared try and keep him from his weeping mate. He hears the one who’d once played his beta only to betray him tell the woman who’d birthed and raised him to take Stiles away,he hears his former beta the one he’d chased away like the cowardly martyr he was said to be demand him to stop and to leave.

 

He sees the way Scott McCall pushes Stiles towards his mother who quickly and almost protectively throws her arms over the sheriff’s daughter while throwing a worried glance over at bother her son and Isaac before shooting a weak glare in his direction, Stiles however didn’t even spare a glance in his direction while she still continued to demand for him to leave and never to return but the beastwouldn’t allow it;he fights, he roars and screams for Stiles to stay, and once she vanishes from his sight the last of his weakening control breaks and he gives in to the beats beneath his skin trusting it to help him to regain their mate.

 

In no time at all the enraged werewolf has brought both of the younger werewolves on the floor groaning and whimpering while advanced towards the doorway through which his mate had vanished when another male figure appears,he does recognize this male figure somewhat but it’s still not enough not to be willing to spill the humans blood if need be. The loud thundering sound of two shots rang through the room and the pain that followed those terrible sounds radiate through his shoulder and leg.He attempts to lunge at this new threat that had managed to harm him well but not truly, he hears the man demand him to stop but there’s no way for him to do such a thingand so he continues to push on even with the incredible pains washingover him from old and fresher wounds;but before he’s able to reach this threat, this threat that wields the same weapons as hunters do, his former beta lunges and together they stumble and fall through the very window through which the he’d entered not too long ago. 

 

The feral part of him seemed to be knocked right out of him much like the air in his lunges as he hits the ground and pieces of glass are imbedded into his back. The world is out of focus for what feels like a minute or two as are all the strange sounds that turns out to be screams he hears as he falls and hits the ground, he fights to breathe again and to regain some sense of reality. 

 

It takes him a minute to realize that he’s got Isaac on top of him, unconscious but alive. 

 

`Isaac!´ the distressed cries, the alarmed shouts are all familiar but only one caused an ache with in his chest,but it falls light once he hears that familiar voice that had whispered softly words of love into his ears call out his name. And soon enough he sees her over the shoulder of the unconscious werewolf, Stiles stumbles out of her childhood home face pale and eyes wide with alarm. Derek immediately pushes the younger male off of his body, the movement pulling painfully at his muscles and he groans unhappily. 

 

`STILES NO!´ Derek hears Scott yell from somewhere inside the house, even in his lightly dazed state Derek could hear the fear in the youth that had flashed crimson eyes of an Alpha at him just moments before,the lack of golden eyes hadn’t drawn Derek’s interest when he’d been under the red-haze of rage but now when slightly calmer he can no longer ignore the fact that the beta had become an Alpha; but the lack of golden-eyes was the least of his worries for in comparison to his need to have Stiles back at his side the sudden change of statues in Scott McCall wasn’t worth much thought, there simply wasn’t much in this world that could overshadow his need to gain back what he’d lost.

 

All Derek really needed was to do was to secure Stiles’ love once more. 

 

`Stiles! Stop!´the girl’s father yells from somewhere between the first and second floor, his voice ripe with panic, `He’s dangerous!´ The words, the wrong advice breaks her path and she looks torn between continuing on towards what Derek hoped was towards him and not Isaac and acting on the demands of those she called family. 

 

`No.´ Derek coughs while struggling back up on his feet, but his knee gives away and he crumbles down hard on top of the werewolf he’d created, he hears bones snapping beneath him and he winches at the realization he’d just broke something beneath the skin of his former beta. His word of protests seemed to fall on deaf ears as she comes to a full-stop and just stares at his possibly haggard appearance she looks so small and afraid where she stands which pains him for she should never have to suffer fear when it came to him for she had never done it before. 

 

`Stiles.´ Derek breathes out, he’s pleading for her to stay with just by the use of his voice, he begs her to trust him not to harm her, Stiles however continued to look at him with an air of fear when the nurse appears at her side, 

 

`Stiles. Please.´ Derek whines voice raw and undoubtedly pitiful,but she continues to look at him with an air of fear and that look was almost enough to cause him to break down in tears of shame for after everything they’d been through and all the meaningless threats he’d thrown at her it was only now that Stiles seemed to see him as a the monster the Argent’s had wished to paint him as.

 

Melissa dares to glance over at the unconscious beta on the ground while still trying to guide Stiles away, from the haunting look on nurses face made it clear to Derek that the woman who’d as good as he knew raised not only Scott but also Stiles believed he’d taken the life of the young werewolf she’d accepted into her house and home. 

 

`Stiles, get inside.´ Scott said gently while rushing outside and coming to stand between Derek and Stiles, and the nurse nods before beginning to usher Stiles into the Stilinski house, Derek snaps immediately out a loud No and he pushes his aching and healing body up on his feet but the time it took to rise and move gave both the fresh Alpha and the father of the young beautiful woman who’d excelled in teaching him about trust and love ample time to forge a blockage against him; Scott stands there claws ready to render him to a stop and the sheriff may not stand there before Derek with claws but he was none the less ready to stop Derek but with the power of a gun.

 

`Please.´ Derek begs while stepping cautiously forward, his legs were trembling but not from fear but by the inner battle the former Alpha was going through; a part of him, a wild and dangerous part, wanted to rip through the wall of bodies that might stand between him and the love of his life, while another part understood that doing such a thing would do nothing more than alienate him from Stiles even further. 

 

`I – please, I need to,´ but before he can voice what he needs and wants he is cut off by the father of the young woman who’d been his adviser long before Derek had become an Alpha. There was no sympathy or understanding in the eyes of the man who’d been there for him and Laura as they watched their childhood home as well as family burned to the ground, and now as Derek stood there facing the man with the badge and gun he wished the deputy that had covered them in blankets and spoke softly to them even while he too reeked of grief. 

 

`Don’t you think you should’ve learned somehow by now that you aren’t wanted here Hale? ´ the question comes out sharply carried out with a voice full of unreasonable angerand Derek dreads that he would never be able to gain the respect of theman who’d managed somehow raise the most amazing human being Derek had ever come across.

 

`Just go Derek.´ the teenager who was as good as Stiles’ brother although at times Derek had wondered whether or not it would stay as such, but it didn’t take long for Derek Hale to understand how ridiculous such suspicious thoughts energized by his own insecurities. Derek had understood early on that jealousy and possessiveness were not traits Stiles admired or would tolerate in any person. 

 

`I can’t. I can’t just leave.´ Derek insists while taking another weak step towards the direction of his mate, he can hear her worried voice from within the building that had served as the Stilinski home. 

 

`Take another step and I’ll put a bullet in your brain, ´the good sheriff warns voice and face hard with what might be unrelenting anger, `I’d like to see you try and heal from that.´the well-aimed threat causes Derek to pause in his tracks for he knows very well that a bullet to the brain or heart would kill him effectively.

 

`Yes, yes you can.´ Scott says trying clearly to reason with him, `You need to leave Derek.´ There’s a groan from the direction of where Isaac had been left, `Just go Derek. She’ll talk with you when she’s ready.´

 

`The hell she is.´ the sheriff says with an air of outrage. 

 

`And what if she aborts my baby Scott before I get to talk with her?! What then? ´Derek doesn’t even try and keep his voice bellow yelling, he doesn’t even try and hide his anger, **** `What then?! Are you just going to bring back my baby ?´ **** It seemed like his words had some affect on the young Alpha who averted his gaze from Derek and instead focused his attention on the ground beneath his feet a deep frown distorting his usually child-like appearance the innocence that had shined through the young male lost.

 

`Then she’s had the abortion, and you’ll just have to deal with it.´Derek hears Isaac say and he turns to glare at the young beta who sways on his feet supporting what had to be a broken arm with the other less damaged upper limb,although there torn sleeve of Isaac’s shirt as well as the bloodstains suggested there had been some damage done to the arm that had not been snapped like a feeble twig;there was a still bleeding cut on the temple of the young werewolf but it was healing rather nicely as they glared at each other.

 

`It’s her fucking body Derek – hers, not yours.´ Isaac continues to say almost fumingly. Derek’s finds the way his former beta suddenly standing up against him and siding with the very girl Isaac and Erica had once almost gleefully made fun of somewhat suspicious and worrisome; the green-eyed monster rises beneath his skin, his insecurities begin to whisper foolish affairs which Derek knew to some extent would never become true. 

 

`That baby is mine.´Derek growls but his answer does nothing to persuade Isaac to side with him, if anything his response seemed to have the opposite effect. 

 

`Well then,´ the younger werewolf snorts before his voice becomes laced with such hateful sarcasm that even Stiles would’ve surely found appalling, ` let’s just rip the baby out of her body and shove it into yours shall we, then you can start to decide over it and Stiles can live free from your demands and mistakes.´ Derek feels a sudden urge to remove the foul tongue of the beta before him and feeding it right back into the mouth of its master, but Derek knows his beloved well enough to understand that such a violent act would displease her for Stiles may not be entirely fond of Isaac but she did not possess a nature which supported what one might consider unnecessary violence.

 

`Touch her and I will fucking end you.´Derek snaps rounding on the injured werewolf who wouldn’t be successful in defending himself against Derek’s wrath but before he’s able to show the young beta the meaning of an ass-kicking he’s stopped by the sheriff who barks at him to not move.

 

`Don’t you fucking dare lay a hand on that boy or I will shot you.´ and it’s clear to Derek that the sheriff was serious with his threat,and so Derek draws back and after a few deep breaths he turns his attention towards the man who seemed very willing to put a bullet in him if he indeed made the wrong move;and he tries to calm down the mess of emotions inside him, he tries to stifle the wave of anger and despair because he knows that he needs to stay calm to prove to Stiles father that he wasn’t the monster the sheriff had seen upstairs in his daughters room.

 

`You alright Isaac?´ Scott asks eyes moving from Derek to Isaac who moves towards the young Alpha and Stiles dad with a limp, Derek winches slightly and wonders how badly he’d lost control upstairs. 

 

`I’m fine.´ Isaac says but the sheriff isn’t buying it and he makes it known by saying,`Son, you’re not fine. Get inside the house and let Melissa take a look at you.´ The clear concern the sheriff suddenly seemed to have for Isaac seemed to surprise Derek as much as it did Isaac who tried to protest against being sent into the house like some weak little child but the sheriff however would have none of it. 

 

`Don’t argue with me son because I don’t care if you have enhanced healing, ´any expectations Derek might’ve had when it came to Isaac reaction at being ordered around by the sheriff was nothing but a waste of thought because the beta did not shy away or whimper, unlike when Derek had barked orders at Isaac or demanded him to do this or that Isaac’s reaction to Sheriff Stilinski demanding obedience Isaac smiled a little smile.

 

`You get your ass inside that house son so Melissa can take a good look at you to make sure you’re healing right.´Derek feels a tightness in his chest at the care the sheriff shows for Isaac while clearly finding the born werewolf’s presence displeasing. 

 

`Yes, sir.´ is all Isaac says and does as he’s told, and Derek doesn’t miss the lightness of Isaac’s steps or the way his heartbeat changed or the way a scent of contentment replaced that of anxiousness. Derek isn’t sure how he feels about the sudden change in Isaac, there’s a small part of him that’s happy for the youth who’d hardly had a great father figure but there was another part which was displeased to find Isaac willing to roll over and show his belly for the law-man; it seemed Isaac’s loyalties had changed in more ways than one the day Derek kicked his sorry ass out on the street. He tries to ignore the twinge of jealousy and anger, but he feels it running beneath his skin as he speaks to his hopefully future father-in-law. 

 

Derek can hear the gasp that escapes both of the females inside the Stilinski house, and he hears the way Melissa and Stiles begin to fuss over the werewolf and Derek knows that even though Isaac might be protesting the attention and fussing the young beta still enjoys the attention and care bestowed upon him well enough; there’s a part of him that wishes he was the one being showered with attention and care. 

 

Derek turns his attention away from Stiles and Melissa who are both working together to help Isaacwhen Scott asks him to leave again voice just a little bit firmer and far less kinder. 

 

`I can’t just leave Scott.´ Derek hisses as the other werewolf, and not for the first time does he regret his uncle biting Scott McCall, and then without another word he turns his attention back towards the man with the loaded gun.

 

`Sheriff, sir, please, I just need to talk to Stiles.Just talk.´Derek says trying to keep his voice calm, trying to keep the restless beast beneath his skin from rising back-up to the surface, `That’s all I want, I just want to talk to her. Just talk.´

 

`No.´ the short little word comes out sharp and short, there’s an iciness unfamiliar to the sheriff’s voice and it startles Derek somewhat as does the harshness of the words that soon follow. 

 

`You don’t get to demand _anything_ Hale, not one bloody thing. Now get the fuck off of my property before I put a hole in that stubborn head of yours.´the threat is real Derek can hear it clearly in the way the heartbeat never changed.

 

Unwilling to have a bullet pass through his skull and shutting down his system, rendering him into nothing more than flesh and bones waiting to decay into nothingness, unwilling to stop and never see the wonders of parenthood Derek Hale drops to his knees willingly in front of the human pointing a gun at him. 

 

`What are you doing? ´ the man whose daughter had snaked her way into Derek’s heart asked, usually so bright man asked with a suspicious look in his angry eyes. 

 

Scott is visibly taken aback by Derek’s display of desperation, but the young Alpha does seem to grow a little less hostile too to Derek’s presence. 

 

`Sir, ´ Derek starts and his voice breaks a little not only with his shattered pride but also the incredible fear washing through his veins a fear born by the mere though that this armed man could be yet another obstacle in Derek’s path to Stiles, but perhaps even a greater reason for the unsteadiness of his voice was the way his heart and body ached for the younger Stilinski, `I need to see, talk to her. Please, sir, I need to make sure she’s alright…´ he doesn’t get to finish what he was trying to say before the sheriff snapped angrily at him.

 

`You need to make sure she’s alright? Are you kidding me? You’re the reason, ´ the now red-faced man takes three powerful strides forward towards the kneeling Derek, `you’re the reason my daughter is crying all the time. You’re the reason she’s miserable you bastard.´ Derek flinched at the harshness of the sheriff’s voice and mannerisms which were similar to Stiles’ own.

 

`Derek, I think you should go.´ Scott advices voice somewhat uneasy and cautious, `I think we all just need to calm down. Rest. Maybe you can talk to Stiles later.´The suggestion that he should leave did not sit well with Derek while the idea that Stiles would even consider talking to Derek displeased the sheriff enough to grumble out the words, `Over my dead body.´

 

Derek shook his head while attempting to find some words to voice all the reasons why he couldn’t just walk away, why he had to stay but before he could do or say anything to convince the father of the girl he loved to allow him to stay and speak his peace but before he can do anything really the sound of Stiles speaking from within the house voice all pleading and sorrowful.

 

`Please Derek, please just go home.´he go absolutely still, no longer breathing do to the fear of missing a single word she speaks to him, `Please Derek, I’m just too tired right now , please just go home.´Derek opens his mouth to argue his case forgetting that there’s no way for Stiles to hear him speak unless of course he did so by screaming,but the promise shemakes from within the four walls that keeps her hidden from his sight is enough to shut his mouth, her words are enough to shut his mouth and just listen to a promise that would have him returning to his loft empty handed but with a spark of hope in his heart.

 

`Please Derek just go home, I – I just can’t not today, but I’ll come to you tomorrow, I’m just way too tired Derek.´ he can hear the way her voice trembles as if she was close to tears, `Please Derek, just let me rest today, okay.´

 

He wants to argue but the promise she makes him has him nodding and leaving the Stilinski property with the tiniest spark of hope in his heart for Stiles heart hadn’t skipped a beat when she’d promised to see him the following day at his loft.

 


	23. Let’s Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was on strict bedrest, but such a thing did not fit her needs at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait but yeah work has been hell on earth and other stuff has been going on too that have been killing me. But here we go, and I confess I’d forget all about Isaac being in this chapter, hopefully you will forgive his presence.

 

They were all against it, every single one of them. 

 

They were all against it even good natured Scott McCall who usually seemed more than willing to give people second chances was against Stiles little outing,of course Scott’s reasoning for his objection was the fear that seeing Derek would only further aggravate her already high blood pressure and other small ailments that had slowly begun to rise, then again if Scott had his way then Stiles would’ve still been stuck at the hospital where she had suffered quietly all the pocking and prodding the doctors and nurses had made her endure with the promise she had forced from her father and Scott’s mother that would ensure she’d not suffer a night at the hospital.

 

Stiles hadn’t even wanted to go to the hospital but her dad and Melissa had insisted upon it, and so to ease her fathers and Melissa’s worrying hearts she’d agreed to go in for a quick check-up and when they with Scott had attempted to keep her there for even one night she had been reduced to begging and crying until her father finally agreed to take her home, although the price was strict bedrest even though Stiles couldn’t see why she was on such a thing considering as she had no reason to worry for the life within her or the risk of miscarrying it for she was due to abort it before the end of the following week. 

 

But although her dad, Melissa and even Scott had attempted to keep her locked away inside her house Stiles was in her Jeep driving towards the loft, her fellow-escapee who’d been left to keep an eye on her while Melissa and her dad as well as Scott were out of the house the first two had left to deal with the troublesome aftermath of being kidnapped and Scott had been called out to help the Argent’s track down the Darach,was sitting silently on the passenger seat eyes sharp and focused on the world outside of the vehicle Isaac unlike everyone else didn’t seem hell-bent on keeping her locked away in her childhood home while cocooned in blankets and slowly taking root on her bed or the couch: Isaachadn’t tried to stop her when she told him she was leaving, going to keep her promise to Derek Hale, all he did was grab their jackets and handing Stiles her own.

 

`What? ´ Isaac asked while they stood by the door leading out of the house that had been asked to keep her locked away, her mouth was agape while she’d stood gawking at him while trying to understand what Isaac Lahey’s game was, and her expression seemed to amuse her for his smirked before speaking once more, ` I said I’d keep an eye on you, didn’t I? I never said where I’d do it.´ 

 

Stiles had to admit that she was really starting to like Isaac even if their drive was a silent one, but it wasn’t the sort of uncomfortable one that could’ve so easily been born from the lack of words or music, it was instead oddly comforting.

 

It was only when she parker her cat at her usual spot outside the building that now housed both Derek and his younger sister, that Stiles nerves began to surface and she needed a minute to just sit and listen to the sound of heavy rain beating down on the roof of the **** Jeep her mother had owned before her, but the beating rain wasn’t  enough to disguise the fact that Stiles’ heart had begun to race like crazy within her chest a chest that had always been vulnerable to slightest shift in weather even now her father would fret over a cold or a simple snivel convinced it would bloom into pneumonia. 

 

`You alright?´ Isaac asked, his hand coming to rest on hers and squeezing it lightly, `You know if you don’t want to do this we can just drive away, go for some pizza. ´ 

 

Somewhere far off in the distance the sound of a thunderstorm coming announced itself, and Stiles couldn’t help but jump a little at the sound. 

 

`Afraid of thunder? ´ Isaac could’ve laughed at her made fun of her reaction but he didn’t and it in itself was a strange thing to behold for there had been a time when he would’ve used this information against her, to entertain himself and his friends, to make her look a fool before Derek Hale as well as Scott McCall; the late of course was well aware of her slight jumpiness when it came to the rumble of thunder and the bright flash of crackling lightning.

 

`Lightning. Lightning is the real killer.´ is all Stiles says before slipping out of her slightly beat-up Jeep, not bothered about the heavy rains that is quick to soak her, the gentle breeze that had been about when she’d left her house had picked-up and was now cold and cruel, for all of Isaac’s efforts she is already soaked by the time he is at her side with his jacket raised above their heads in a poor attempt to shelter the both of them from the heavy drops of rains.

 

`Ready?´ Isaac asks while the loud rumbling sound erupts somewhere above them and the wind grows and if she was weaker or lighter she could’ve easily been caused to sway where she stood or walked. 

 

`No.´ Stiles confesses while rubbing her soaked face against Isaac’s chest and she blushed at once when realizing what she’d done but the male does not mock her and she is further confused by this Isaac who gently guides her into the dreary looking building. 

 

They stay silent through the rest of the journey, separating from one another only when they are away from the rain and in the rattling lift that seemed to struggle as much as Stiles did with the prospect of reaching the floor where they would find Derek Hale.

 

`Nervous?´ Isaac asked just a few screeches away before the contraption stopped and a worn down looking Derek Hale stood before them forcing the barrier between the and him open **** startling Stiles enough to cause her to jump a little. **** Stiles hadn’t seen Derek’s eyes cold and hard as they moved between her and Isaac, nostrils flared as he scented the air between them, and for a little while Stiles worries that Derek would display the same sort of wildness Derek had displayed in her room yesterday.

 

`Why is he here? ´ Derek asks voice tight with anger while moving to place his body so that noisy lift could not descend back down to the lower-levels of the building, to keep her from escaping, his voice is harsh and suspicious and Stiles instinctively moves to stand between the reason for her pregnant state and the younger werewolf who attempted to step between her and the younger male Hale. 

 

`Why didn’t you come alone? Don’t you trust me? ´ there is a desperate sadness there in Derek’s voice, and Stiles knows she could be cruel and punish Derek by confessing that she indeed did not trust Derek, that she wasn’t able to trust him like she’d done once before, his devotion for the life growing inside her and the complete disregard he showed her opinion and wishes on the issue of her pregnancy made her doubt his sincerity when it came to her well-being.

 

Stiles is however not as cruel as she could be, instead of speaking her thoughts out and revealing the opinions she now holds of the man she’d once loved, instead Stiles gives Derek the true reason why she and Isaac were sharing the same space. 

 

`He’s keeping an eye on me, dad’s orders – and Melissa’s too as well as Scott’s.´ if she leaves out the fact that she’d been damned to staying off of her feet what harm would it really do anyone? The answer seemed to be enough to dim the cold glare in Derek’s eyes.

 

`And why are you wearing his jacket? ´ Derek asks suspiciously, and Stiles hadn’t really realized that Isaac had slipped his jacket on her. 

 

`It’s raining. Can’t you see she’s soaking wet? ´ Isaac responded with an air of attitude which fishes out just another growl from the older werewolf, but regardless of the growl Stiles could tell there was no real threat there; she’d learned long ago the differences between Derek’s growls and snarls and glares, she could tell a harmful growl from none harmful one easily.

 

Derek gazes at her, and Stiles becomes suddenly very aware of how the water drips and dances down her shivering form. **** Her feet are soaked in the ratty old converses she slipped her feet into before making her not so grand escape from her house and home,each piece of clothing was glued to her like a second piece of skin causing her to feel terribly uncomfortable, Isaac’s jacket does very little to help keep the cold from seeping into her bones. ** **

 

While Derek eyed her, judged her perhaps, she did the same to him. He’s giving her a chance to really take in the details of his appearance. 

 

Stiles had never seen Derek Hale like this before all pale and dark circles beneath the eyes that had drawn her in the very first day he walked into her life, but these eyes looking back at her were not vibrant with anger but tired and sorrowful. **** Derek looked ill, skin clammy and he was still wearing the sameshirt clothes he’d worn the morning he’d slipped into her room, he didn’t look as bad as he’d done when he’d demanded her to cut off his arm but still he didn’t look well enough not to tug at her heart-strings; and so with her cold and slightly shaky hand she reached out towards him as soon as her hand touched his cheek, he covered the back of her hand with his own as if to make sure that her touch was real or to make sure she wouldn’t be able to pull back her hand,the heart-wrenching-soul-breaking whine that escaped the werewolf squeezed at Stiles heart like he’d reached inside her chest and grabbed her heart with claws and all squeezing it so very tightly until it began to bleed her dry. 

 

`Derek? ´ Stiles whispers voice full of concern,the werewolf before her nuzzled her hand while whimpering some more, `Derek, did you sleep at all? Drink? Eat? ´ He shakes his head against the palm of her hand and mumbled out something that sounded suspiciously like `Couldn’t. Too worried you wouldn’t come.´

 

` I promised you I would, didn’t I Derek? ´Stiles says and she’s admittedly hurt by the idea that he’d think so little of her. 

 

`I – I was worried your father wouldn’t allow it.´ Isaac snorts at Derek’s confession Stiles can’t help the little snort that escaped her because Derek wasn’t wrong thinking that her dad wouldn’t want her to see him but Derek should’ve known she wouldn’t be locked-away that easily. 

 

Derek raises an eyebrow and Isaac doesn’t hesitate to speak, `He sure as hell doesn’t want her here Derek.´ 

 

`But I’m here now.´ Stiles is quick to say as another pathetic sound escapes the werewolf who continued to trap her hand between his cheek and hand. 

 

`Yes. Yes you are.´ Derek smiles a little eyes suddenly less tired and dull in color, there was almost a warm glow that reminded her of the few times it was just him and her alone and close. It was that little smile that had made her believe that Derek Hale indeed loved her, and it had been that smile that had made her love him even more, and it was that smile that made her want to just sink into Derek and stay there awhile pretending the horrors and heartaches that had followed with the arrival of the Darach. 

 

She’s isn’t lulled into oblivion by the smile which is the reason why she not unaware of Derek beginning to usher her away from Isaac and the lift,Stiles noticed Derek’s attempt to separate Stiles and Isaac from one another. Stiles immediately reached towards Isaac who hadn’t allowed Derek simply to lock him out of the moment, and it causes Derek to shoot a glare and a growl in Isaac direction but Stiles would have none of it.

 

`Stop it.´ Stiles snaps at the older male who lost all resemblance of anger and all Stiles could see now was a deep sadness and hurt there in those eyes which she could’ve one upon a time gazed into for hours without growing bored. Seeing the pain she’d caused with just two words made Stiles’ own heart ache, but instead of giving it too much power Stiles spoke-up for Isaac’s continuing presence.

 

`Derek. Isaac promised to keep an eye on me, and trust me my dad will know if he hasn’t.´ **** Derek looked down at her as if searching for some sign of deception there, the distrust once more reminding her of the damage Kate had done long ago as well as the fresh and possibly festering wounds Jennifer had created; and Stiles was certain she’d done some damage there as well, intentionally or not she’d probably earned some distrust from Derek but then again she too lacked the ability to trust him fully now.

 

`I’m serious Derek, he’ll know.´Stiles says with an air of unwavering certainty, and the truth was that she held no doubt her father would know; for she’d learned at a young age that although she could deceive her father, this ability most likely possible simply because he wanted to believe her to be truthful by nature, others weren’t as lucky which was of course a pain in the ass when she did something wrong with an accomplish; Scott had ratted the both of them out a thousand times without saying a word.

 

`Derek. Come on. She’s cold and soaking wet. She needs to get dry and warm, ´ Isaac argued, gesturing towards the soaking mess that was one Stiles Stilinski, `and standing here arguing isn’t going to do her,´ Isaac gave Stiles an almost apologetically look before bring the baby into the occasion in an attempt to sway the restless werewolf, `or the baby any good, yeah? So can we just get inside, I can make some tea and you can get her some dry clothes.´

 

Whatever thoughts Derek had of continuing to try and keep Isaac on the outside slips away and Stiles can tell now it’s all about making sure she’s fine, and for the first time she’s more than happy to allow other’s to fuss over her while she was in a shape to accept or decline it; and if being cared for eases some of Derek’s anxiety then she’d allow the werewolves to guide her into the bathroom where she was allowed to take a long hot shower with Cora keeping guard at the door. 

 

But although Cora gave her a change of clothes that fitted her well enough Derek still grabbed a soft blanket Stiles’ had never seen in the loft before and wrapped it over around her while herding her over to the couch. And as soon as she seated Isaac is there offering her a mug with hot tea. 

 

`I put some honey in it, to make it sweet.´ Isaac explained as he handed over the Batman mug that had appeared in Derek’s loft one morning when she’d stayed over to do research, when Derek had handed her the mug with a little smile that was hopeful but cautious her heart had melted just a little because even though he’d deny it when Isaac had questioned the reasons behind this special little mug Stiles knew Derek had bought it for her and only her, and she had never seen anyone else use it. 

 

`Thanks.´ Stiles says while wrapping her hands around the mug the warmth of the tea seeping through the mug and into her hands, from past experiences Stiles knew that Isaac had a talent for brewing tea and she might’ve once asked him to marry her. Stiles breathes in the scent of the tea and hums in approval as the fruity scent settles in her senses, her eyes closing as she allows the scent to sooth her nerves, because of her closed eyes she’s blind to the conversation that takes place between the three werewolves; it is a conversation of looks, eyebrows and hand-gestures. 

 

Stiles doesn’t unseal her eyes until she’s taken her first sip of the tea that is still a little bit too hot but which still has her taking another sip because there’s a thirst in her mouth that doesn’t care of the slight burn. Derek sat across from her on the coffee-table which had been moved a few inches further away from the couch as if to ensure no unwanted contact between her and the visibly nervous werewolf was possible without some effort at least, Stiles could however tell that Derek wanted to reach out and touch her but thankfully he understood to keep his restless hands to himself. 

 

Isaac was seated on the armrest of the couch, and Stiles couldn’t help but find his presence comforting which was strange considering how they weren’t close or even friends, or at least she hadn’t considered the were friends until fairly recently and she wasn’t even sure Isaac felt the same and yet Stiles felt like she could trust Isaac to get her out of there if things became too much.And then there was Cora Hale who had like Isaac become someone Stiles’ felt could be trustedwhich was peculiar considering how the she-wolf had been rather fond of threatening Stiles with sever bodily harm not too long ago,but things had obviously changed and Stiles felt safer with the knowledge that she was there.Unlike Isaac Cora wasn’t seated she was standing behind her brother with a stance that could’ve fooled anyone to think she was perfectly relaxed and unworried, Stiles however knew better because she’d spent enough time with werewolves to know that she-wolf was anything but at eased with their situation; then again Cora had made a promise to Stiles in the bathroom that Stiles believed the younger Hale intended to keep. ****

 

_ Stiles can barely feel her toes or her fingertips as she walks into the familiar bathroom with Cora who quickly moved to turn on the shower, if Cora hadn’t stopped her brother then Derek would’ve been there making things even more awkward for her.  _

 

_ Stiles begins with removing Isaac’s jacket, a jacket she knows Melissa had bought him and one which Isaac had become rather taken with it, and so she shows the item of clothing a great deal of care unlike she did her with her shoes and socks which she just kicked off and dumped on the floor, she placed the jacket on the bathroom counter with shaky hands.  _

 

_ `Let’s get these wet clothes off of you before you catch your death.´ Cora says while reaching out to help Stiles with the layers of fabrics stuck to her skin, and just the knowledge that Cora would soon see her half-naked and possible completely naked form caused her to withdraw into herself, she was never comfortable with being in any state of undress around other girls or guys that weren’t Scott; Stiles had hardly been gifted with good-looks unlike Cora.  _

 

_ `If your worried about Derek, don’t be,´ Cora said while tossing the soaked t-shirt she’d pulled off of Stiles, she tossed the t-shirt to the floor like it was something completely worthless which of course it wasn’t because it was her mom’s, `Don’t worry about the shirt, I’ll get it back to you.´  _

 

_ `It was my mom’s,´ Stiles said with a whisper, and Cora just nodded before speaking oncemore with a little smirk on her lips, `I guessed as much.´ and while she continued to assist Stiles with the removal of her yoga-pants the werewolf continued to say, `Can’t imagine you’d buying a Janis Joplin t-shirt.´ _

 

_ `I wouldn’t, and neither did mom, she found it on a bus.´ Stiles explained, and Cora just smiled a little before saying, `Sounds like an awesome lady.´ _

 

_ `She was.´ Stiles nodded, Cora starts to move towards the bathroom door but pauses for a second and says without even glancing at Stiles, `I promise you, that if you want to leave at any moment, you can.´  _

 

_ `What about Derek?´ Stiles asked voice soft and a little bit on the weaker side, she wasn’t all that sure that Derek would just allow her to walk out the door after what she was about to tell him.  _

 

_ `Don’t worry about him Stiles.´ Cora said without turning around to look at her, ` I’ll break his legs if I have too.´  _

 

`How is it?´ Isaac asks from where’s he’s perched and Stiles turns to smile up at the guy who’d sort of stolen some of Scott’s attention from her but Stiles was growing used to sharing Scott with others more and more.

 

`Good. Thank you.´ Stiles says granting Isaac a little smile and Isaac immediately tilts his head down to hide the little smile that was born on his lips it was rather adorable although it that seemed Derek didn’t appreciate Stiles sudden opinion of Isaac’s behavior.

 

`Stiles.´ Derek’s voice held a tightness which he swallowed down bitterly before enquiring whether or not she’d like something to eat, the question was not all that unusual since Derek had always seemed strangely focused on making sure that Stiles had enough to eat or that she at least had one meal a day. 

 

Stiles draws her focus away from Isaac whom she would love to tease at the moment for the little blush appearing on the werewolf’s cheeks, but chooses yet again to give the werewolf a break, and so instead she turned her attention back to her cup of tea.

 

`No thank you. I’m fine, really. ´ is all Stiles can say.She can’t even bring herself to look up at Derek, not yet because from what she could tell it was Derek who needed to eat and drink as well as sleep. **** There’s a moment of silence, a strained silence that lacks any of the comfort she’d shared with Isaac in her jeep not too long ago. 

 

`Stiles.´ Isaac nudges and nods towards a very tense Derek, `We can’t stay here for long.´

 

`Then get out. Leave.´ Derek barks at Isaac who jumps a little but stays seated none the less. 

 

`Yeah you’d like that wouldn’t you.´ Isaac grumbled but fell silent as soon as Stiles grabbed his hand and squeezed it, at the contact another growl erupted from the werewolf sitting across from her but Stiles chooses to ignore it unlike Cora.

 

`Derek.´ Cora barked in warning and Derek fell silent immediately. 

 

Stiles places her cup down right next to where Derek is seated, she takes great care to not touch him, `Why is this so hard? ´ She mumbled while running her hand through her still damp hair. She hates the way she can’t get her thoughts in order, `I’ve never had a hard time talking to you before.´ Stiles dares a quick glance at Derek who smiles at her cautiously but with a smidge of amusement there as well. 

 

`Or anyone.´ Cora laughed lightly, it wasn’t the sort of cruel laughter the girl had sported more than once when it came to the things Stiles said or did, there was now a fondness there which brought a smile to Stiles’ lips. 

 

`Stiles.´ Derek begins voice gentle and yet firm. Stiles dares to look at the sad figure before her and Derek looks absolutely like a sad and desperate creature waiting for absolution or the final blow to end it all, `I know I’ve said this before, but I am sorry.´

 

`I know.´ Stiles says with a heavy little sigh, `I know you’re sorry. I’m not denying that Derek.´ and it’s true she believes with her whole heart that he’s sorry, it’s so clear in the way Derek’s voice vibrated and broke as he apologized, she knows his apologize aren’t false from just looking into his eyes; those orbs of his had always been so very telling to her more so than his words ever could. 

 

Derek looks so very broken and guilt ridden as he sat there asking for her forgiveness, and she knows that if the miserable werewolf had the power to manipulate time he would’ve turned back the hands of time and do his damn hardest to stop not only the death of Paige **** and his family but also all the mistakes he’d made in between, she knew if Derek could twist and bend time to his will Laura Hale’s death would never have happened and Boyd and Erica would still be alive and in love, she knows that if Derek had the power he would will the moment he gave Stiles up for Jennifer Blake to never have happened. Stiles knows Derek, and she knows he carries every mistake he’s ever made heavily on his broad shoulders, and even if every single person who’d been affected by Derek’s deeds told him they didn’t blame him or that they forgave and loved him he would still carry the guilt in his heart.

 

Something seemed to lift off of Derek at her acceptance of his apology, and he gives her a little smile one full of love and gratitude and his scoots just a little bit closer, hands ready to reach out and touch, to thank her perhaps but Stiles can’t allow him to touch her yet not until they’ve finished the talk that could mend some bridges or burn even the last pieces to the ground. 

 

`I just need to know,´ Stiles says while pulling her legs up on the couch and pushing her body as far back into the seat she’s occupying as possible, and it’s clear by the way Derek’s smile falters and falls that he understands that it takes more than just a simple apology to fix things. He’s hurt by her rejection but there’s however still a painful amount of hope there in his eyes. 

 

`I just need to know, ´ Stiles struggles to keep her voice steady and not as broken and afraid as she feels, `I just _need_ to know, did – did you really not feel – like real feelings – towards her.´ Stiles felt like an idiot, because she just couldn’t get the words out like she wanted them too, she was suddenly incompetent when it came to speech. 

 

`I swear Stiles,´ Stiles stopped screaming her frustration into the pillow she’d brought with her to the loft, a pillow she’d loved to lay her head on whenever she’d taken over the couch in the loft, a pillow her mother had made a long time ago with the help of Stiles great-great grandmother.

 

`I swear I never loved her, not really. I thought I did but even then it felt odd and wrong, like I was missing something – I felt alone all the time even when she was there right beside me. ´ he’s struggling, Stiles can tell he’s struggling to find the right words and she wants to step in the way she’s always done but she can’t because this is something he needs to do on his own, she can’t say what she doesn’t know or understand or feel; it annoys her to be in such an unfamiliar situation, she hates seeing Derek struggle so but she has to keep silent and let him speak even though it’s hard for both of them. 

 

`None of what I felt towards her were real feelings, I know that now, I feel it now.´ once more Derek moves closer, hands visibly desperate the touch her to make her feel how serious he was about the words he spoke. 

 

`He’s not lying.´ Isaac said and Cora concurred with his statement. 

 

`So, she…´ Stiles is cautious with her choice of words because she has no idea how not to make herself feel sick by the idea that yet another woman had used Derek, abused his rights, tricked him to do something that hurt him and those he loved and cared for. 

 

`Used something. Deaton thinks it’s a spell.´ Derek whispers, voice so hollow and broken, disgusted and Stiles can’t take it, she just can’t sit there and not do something, and as she reaches out towards the werewolf he continues to say words that breaks yet another broken part of her already cracked heart, `But it doesn’t matter what it was, I hurt you and I’m so sorry Stiles. I’m so sorry. ´ 

 

`Oh Derek.´ Stiles chocked out while reaching out to take his hand in hers while the other hands went to cup the face she’d once kissed like it was something she wished to memories by the use of her lips alone,`I’m so sorry.´ and she was, she hated the thought that Derek had been as good as raped by the horrible woman, that he’d have to live with the knowledge that he hadn’t been in his right mind when Jennifer Blake slipped into his bed. And as Derek begins to shed his tears she pulls him into a hug and just holds him tightly, Stiles allows him to cry out his guilt and self-loathing. She doesn’t say anything, because what could she say really to make the pain and guilt and self-loathing disappear? Nothing she could say would make what had happened to just magically disappear, all she could do was be there and hold the crying man for as long as he needed her to do so. 

 

By the time Derek had stopped crying Cora’s shirt was soaked and both Isaac and Derek’s sister had vanished into the kitchen to give them some privacy which Stiles had not wished for and was rather unhappy about. Stiles wasn’t sure she could deal with Derek and what needed to be done without someone there to ground her. 

 

`I love you. ´ Derek whispered against Stiles chest while her fingers play with the messy strands of his now slightly oily hair. 

 

Stiles doesn’t know what to say, in some way she believes that Derek did/doeslove her but there were so many different forms of love, and she’d learned long ago that one form of love could change with passing of time; Stiles had witnessed it with her parents, as well as with herself. Stiles did love Derek but she was no longer sure if she was in-love with him. 

 

Derek tilts his head enough to look up at herwhich tells her that she’d been too quiet.

 

`Stiles?´ and he’d seen something, something in her that was causing him to grow alert and worried and Stiles sighs heavily which doesn’t help if anything Derek grows even further alarmed, `Stiles?´

 

`I’m sorry, I just -´ Stiles hates the way she’s struggling with sorting out her feelings and thoughts, she hates being this close to Derek and being at a complete loss.Stiles knows that she loves Derek still in some strange unwavering sort of a way, but she’s just so confused and torn and hurt.

 

She feels horrible for still feeling so angry and hurt, especially now that she’s learned what had happened between Derek and Jennifer Blake; Derek had been used, abused and raped by this other woman but even knowing this didn’t ease the anger Stiles still felt and she felt like the worst of the worst for still feeling the way she did. 

 

`Stiles?´ Stiles sees the fear and worry in Derek’s marvelous eyes and she feels ashamed for being the cause of his anxiousness, and she too is afraid but her fear is based on the fear that he might come to hate her soon enough, and although she’s been angry she’d never wanted him to hate her. 

 

`Stiles? Babe what’s wrong? ´ Derek asks while sitting-up, eyes wide and fearful searching for a clue to what had suddenly causes Stiles heart beat to spike. 

 

`I’m so sorry.´ Stiles says voice wavering and low, she’s fighting her tears knowing that if she starts to cry she’d lose her strength of will and any attempts at voicing her thoughts and feelings would become nothing more than an idea never given wings to fly and grow, and if Stiles was perfectly honest with herself which she was then spilling anymore tears would be a waste of time because she was tired of weeping over the injustice she’d suffered. Stiles Stilinski was tired of being pathetic and sad.

 

`Babe, what’s wrong? ´the werewolf she’d once loved with her whole heart asked, and Stiles can’t handle looking at the Derek who looks so desperate, so worn down and bloody desperate. Stiles knows all the wrongs Derek had suffered through, and although he’d wronged her rather severely it didn’t make what she needed to do any easier, `Stiles, Stiles I promise you we’ll be alright.´Stiles hates the way she and Derek seemed doomed to suffer unfair cruelty, it seemed the fates were against them and maybe that was why she’d been so drawn to him knowing somewhere deep down she wasn’t allowed to love this werewolf who continued to speak to her with a softness reserved for only her.

 

`I swear, I swear Stiles it will get easier,´ Derek sounds as desperate as he looks, and his hands are shaking a little as he clasps themover her own trembling hands, `I love you, and I will – I will prove myself to you and…´

 

`Derek please stop.´ Stiles whispers and she feels like she’d damned to never be happy, never to do one damn thing right for the rest of her life when gazing into the eyes of a man she’d loved so deeply once not too long ago.

 

`Just promise me we’ll be alright.´ Derek says softly, his swelling desperation so evident on his face and in his voice that it nearly chocks Stiles, his lips tremble as he brings her hands to his lips, kissing her softly.

 

`Derek.´ Stiles sighs pulling her hands free, she needs to deny his affections or she might lose her weak determination, `Please, just stop.´

 

`I can’t. ´ Derek mouths against the palm of her hand, voice so sad and small, ` I can’t just stop. I love you Stiles.´ 

 

`Derek, please, just...´ Stiles tries her voice not as strong or stubborn as she’d wish it to be, but before she can go any further Derek’s up on his feet and growling at the direction of the door, claws coming out as if ready for battle. 

 

`Stiles. Upstairs. Now.´ Derek barks at her while dragging her up and off of the couch, but before she can even take a step the door slides open causing her to jump ever so slightly, and Derek is standing between her and the door in a stance that speaks of readiness for battle. And before the door is fully opened revealing the reason for the loud roar of anger that erupts from deep within Derek’s body both Cora and Isaac rush to stand protectively at her side. 

 


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The same evil that had once slipped into his bed and heart strolled into his loft a smile on her face and destruction on her mind.

 

Watching the bitch stroll into Derek’s loft like she owned the place, like she lived there with Derek playing happy families, the sight of the woman who’d used and abused Derek walking into the loft all smiles and eyes bright with something made Stiles feel uneasy although not enough so to stifle the swelling rage inside her. Seeing the woman who’d played with Derek’s thoughts and feelings like some deranged puppeteer caused Stiles’ blood boil. The sight of the heartless bitch simply refreshed the hurt Stiles had felt when her heart was shattered, but in all honesty it isn’t just Stiles’ own negative feelings that made her feel so incredibly angry that Stiles was literally shaking. Having that abomination of a woman who’d stole Stiles place at Derek’s side for months by dirty and dishonorable means made Stiles not only angry but sick as well as guilty because although she now knew that there had been no true lobe between Derek and the woman who’d abused her gift didn’t help to mend Stiles heart.

 

Stiles had never before felt so much hatred towards another living person before, and Stiles would’ve been shocked by the amount of loathing she was made to feel by just the sight of the person who like Kate Argent gave women a bad name, if only Stiles hadn’t been so blinded by the fury that grabs her heart then perhaps she could’ve dissect her emotions but at that moments all she could do was allow herself an outlet which came in the form of grabbing her cup and throwing it straight at the other woman.

 

Throwing her cup at the woman who’d violated Derek and who’d broke something in Stiles which made her feel like she couldn’t trust or love Derek the same way Stiles had done before this disastrous situation had happened, Stiles wishes so very hard the cup was something more like an axe. 

 

The cup doesn’t hit its intended target not that Stiles had really expected it too,the flying object simply drops to the floor softly without breaking as if an invisible hand had caught it and placed it down at the feet of the Darach who laughed softly, `Control your hormones Stilinski, wouldn’t want you to get hurt now would we Derek? ´

 

Derek growls grow in volume while his entire body moves to shelter Stiles from the gleaming eyes of the woman who seemed to be mocking him as well as Stiles with just her presence. Cora began to tug gently at Stiles’ hand as the displeasing woman came closer and closer to where the small group of three werewolves and one human were standing, the born werewolf seemed to want to get Stiles out of there but Stiles simply wasn’t willing to just up and leave; Stilinski’s didn’t run or hide, and so she would not hide away upstairs in one of the bedrooms like a frightened child, Stiles Stilinski had no intentions of behaving like some damsel in distress she would stand her ground. 

 

Sure, Stiles didn’t mind having Isaac and Derek as well as Cora at her side, but even if they hadn’t been there she wouldn’t have ran because her mother and father had thought her better than that. 

 

`Oh, Derek you _sad_ idiot, ´ the Darach says with an exasperated sigh although Stiles can easily tell that the creature was suffering from nothing more than a deep sense of amusement,`Why bother protecting her? She’s not going to have that little bastard growing inside her. ´ Derek began to growl even l louder which only seemed to amuse the bitch further who turned her attention towards Stiles.

 

`You are, aren’t you, getting that mutt vacuumed right out of your…´before anyone of them can stop him and with a roar loud enough to cause the windows rattle against their frames, the sound of Derek’s outrage is so loud that Stiles can feel it in her very bones, and in a blink of an eye Derek lunges towards the laughing woman and none of them can stop him.

 

Derek is a only a few inches from the viper of a woman who has stopped talking but was grinning with a strange gleam in her eyes like all this was just a game to the Darach and it was clear to Stiles that the villainess was certain she would win, and as if to prove her opinion correct Derek Hale the born werewolf is suddenly up and off of his feet and flying through the air like a simple tennis ball but unlike the ball he did not go bouncing around the room once his body struck the nearest wall no it crumbled to the floor with a loud thud and a godawful groan followed by gasps for air. 

 

Witnessing Derek flying through the air like a feather caught in the wind was in Stiles’ opinion a frightful sight to see and it causes her to scream with alarm,but being the brave fool or the careless idiot Derek was the werewolf is back up on his somewhat shaky legs and running towards the serpent that had once upon a time not too long ago slipped into Derek’s mind and bed; thisis an act that goes against the desires of Stiles as well as Cora and Isaac all three crying out for Derek to just stop, but the werewolf appears deaf to everything but its own rage.

 

It comes as no surprise to Stiles Stilinski or the two werewolves close to her when Derek’s body is once more thrown off his feet and this time his muscular body came flying towards where Stiles stood with Cora and Isaac,the flying werewolf crashes into Isaac who’d instinctively tries to catch Derek before Stiles has even realized that the Darach had thrown him at them this time and without Cora Stiles would’ve been crushed by both Derek and Isaac. When the realization of how close she’d come to being crushed by two were muscular and heavy werewolves hits her Stiles sinks into Cora’s hold, her back melting into Cora’s front allowing Stiles to feel the angry growls Cora is creating vibrate through her back and into her own chest, Stiles can feel Cora’s strong arms tighten around her slightly and it takes Stiles a minute to realize that her feet aren’t touching the floor.

 

`Go! ´ Isaac shouts at Cora, eyes glowing yellow, he’s struggling to get back up on his feet with Derek on top of him gasping for air, `Cora go! ´ Stiles feels Cora nod stiffly before hoisting Stiles up like she weighs nothing and begins to carry her up the stairs like a little bride of sorts, this is not something Stiles wants and she makes it known, by protesting loudly, `Wait. No. Cora we need to help them.´ but Cora ignores her and continues to carry Stiles away which is more than a little bit irritating.

 

The Darach sighs with an air of disappointment her eyes are full of cruel intentions which zoom in on Stiles and there’s something about that gaze that drains all the warmth right out of her body.

 

`Now, now, where do you think you are going sweetheart? ´ the Darach asked while taking a step forward stepping right over the cup, both Isaac and Derek who are slowly getting back-up their movements slow and visibly pained. 

 

`We’ve got things to do Stiles.´Stiles heart feels like an invisible hand has suddenly grabbed it spreading the cold grasp of true undeniable fear like those little trickle of words spoken with a false sweetness were just enough to stop her beating heart, Stilesfeels a fear she’s never known before wash over her and drown her; not even being trapped in the Argent’s basement with Gerard beating her and threatening to have her raped in front of Boyd and Erica before dumping her used and dead body outside her house, had unnerved her as much as this very moment did, nothing before had ever made Stiles feel as terrified for her own well-being as that moment with the Darach did.

 

Cora is quick to set Stiles down on the steps of the stairs while ordering her to run and hide which in all honesty is a useless thing to ask from her for Stiles isn’t entirely capable of just leaving her friends behind to fight a battle they were clearly incapable of wining,regardless of the amount of bravery her friends had in their hearts it was clear they were not going to beat the Darach with strength and claws alone this was made clear by the way Cora was thrown into the air like a ragdoll without the Darach so much as laying a finger on the young she-wolf.

 

Stiles bolts without further thought towards the kitchen hoping against all hope that one of her emergency kits is still safe and sound underneath the kitchen sink because without some magical means they would all lose the fight, being the clever girl she was Stiles had prepared for both a possible attack as well as dreadful and life-threatening injuries that her werewolf companions might suffer; of course she wasn’t sure that any of the things in the tiny lunchbox would do the trick but she had to hope that something would at least slow the Darach down just enough to give them a fighting chance.

 

`Run Stiles! ´ she hears Isaac scream before something crashes and Stiles fights the urge to look behind her and continues to run in the direction of the kitchen where she’d made more than one meal for Derek and Isaac in, Stiles ignores the sounds of cries and whimpers as well as loud groans and yelps and she tries not to jump or winch with each crashing sound or thud. behind her and a loud whimper and a growl is heard, Stiles doesn’t look behind her even when she hears Derek yell for her or perhaps not to her but the Darach to leave but regardless to whom he’d been yelling at the heartless bitch just laughs coolly before calling for Stiles like she was some house pet,and the hairs on Stiles’ arms jump up and a cold shiver runs down her spine at the sound of the disgusting woman calling for her.

 

There’s a horribly loud roar that causes the glasses and plates clink and clank in the kitchen cabinets, and then came the now familiar sound of werewolves trying to fight something and making a royal mess of if it.

 

Stiles drops to her knees at the kitchen sink yanking the cabinet doors wide open, while digging through the cabinet Stiles prays that the destroyer of relationships and trust hadn’t found the small Batman lunchbox because if she had then it was surely gone unless of course the Darach was dumber than a doorknob., or there simply wasn’t anything harmful within the box; Stiles of course wished that if the box lay untouched it was simply because the Darach had underestimated her.

 

Thankfully luck had been gracious towards Stiles Stilinski or simply the pack for there it was right behind fire extinguisher nr.7, the sight of the familiar and battered lunchbox gave Stiles a newfound hope she’d never dared to believe in. Stiles could’ve screamed out her joy but she knew better than that, a surprise attack was her best form of action when faced with odds stacked against her and her werewolves.

 

Reaching towards the small box with the faded images of batman she could hear someone cry out in pain and Cora crying out a desperate no, and Stiles begged for all the saints, gods and goddesses, deities and demi-gods to keep her those she loved and cared for safe and to keep them alive for she could not watch another grave be made and stone raised with a familiar name forced into it. Stiles could not watch another one of her loved ones die for she’d seen too much of death to her liking. 

 

Stiles nearly sobs as a tightness in her chest breaks with her fingers grasping at the hard plastic box, she pulls the box out from its hideaway and unlatches the lock and as the lid is raised her heart drops, the box is empty apart from a post-it note at the bottom with the words. 

 

** Clever Girl. But not clever enough.  **

 

Something that feels like her ankle has been grabbed by a ghost of sorts, she sees nothing but feels something like a hand dipped into a bowl of ice-water latch onto her ankle the hold is painfully hard and before she can do or say anything her ankle is yanked so hard she’s thrown of balance and falls hard onto the floor, the air leaves her body as the front of her very human body hits the kitchen floor the lunchbox discarded somewhere out of reach as she is being dragged into the other room; she claws at the floor her already short fingernails breaking so easily against the harness of the floor across which her body is dragged mercilessly by something Stiles can’t even seem, the soft skin of her fingertips begin to bleed as the skin breaks and fingernails are left in the scratches on the floor Stiles has created in her desperation to flee, to fight.

 

`Now stop misbehaving Stilinski,´ the Darach says voice full of warning and mouth twisted up into a grotesque smile on an equally hideous face as the seemingly innocent facial features of a fairly beautiful woman had been replaced by one that Stiles is convinced will haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life.

 

`Or I’ll just have to bind you down.´ the abomination says with an air of promise that causes Stiles stop fighting as she’s never been good at handling been tied down, and perhaps the heavy foot pressing against her back has something to do with Stiles going completely motionless on the cold floor.

 

`Let her go.´ Isaac coughs rolling onto his side face pale and eyes wide, there’s a large splinter of something sticking right out of his side.

 

`Or what pup?´ the creature says with a cold smirk and if to prove how helpless they were to her whims the Darach pressed her foot down harder on Stiles, causing her stomach to press down against the floor even harder than before which causes her to cry out in pain. 

 

`Stop! ´ Derek screams like he’d never screamed before the sound alone is enough to cause Stiles to stop moving, she turns her head just enough to see the werewolf who was down on the floor on all fours face pale and body trembling,she’d never before seen Derek look so fearful, the undeniable terror frightens her and nothing about him speaks of a will to fight to the death at least not as long as the foot is pressing down on her, `Please, Jen, please let her go.´

 

`Don’t you beg Derek, ´ Stiles growls at Derek who looks startled by the stir of anger that Stiles suddenly expresses with only her voice,seeing Derek like this down on his hands and knees in front of the woman who’d as good as raped him and it just made Stiles blood boil with anger, `Don’t you fucking dare to beg her for anything Derek.´

 

The Darach bursts out laughing lifting her foot off of Stiles before grabbing her by the hair and yanking her up onto her knees, and even now Stiles tries to fight even though she knows there’s no point in fighting but there’s a part of her that refuses to surrender to this damned woman who’d come into town and ruined a part of Stiles life;there are loud cries for the Darach to let her go and to stop none of which were of Stiles’ own. 

 

Stiles was forced down on her knees at the Darach’s feet, the hand in her hair pulling hard enough to cause Stiles to whimper. 

 

`Look at them, ´ the Darach hisses into Stiles ear while continuing to pull at Stiles had enough to cause Stiles neck to feel like it was about to tare which made her to whimper ever so slightly, ` Useless little animals. Beasts.´Stiles protests against that cruel claim which only earns her another sharp tug of her hair, makes Stiles has to wonder if she’ll be sporting a bald patch on her head after this situation was dealt with, but she needs the werewolves to know she doesn’t see them as beast and so ignoring her own discomfort she continues to protests.

 

`They _are_ so above you.´ Stiles hisses at the Darach, ` You’re the only monster I see in this room.´ Stiles speaks surely and her heart doesn’t even tremble or skip a beat, her belief that there was but one abomination in the room and it wasn’t the werewolves or Stiles herself was so sure that she’d swear it before any man or God. 

 

Cora gives her a small smile, rare but greatly appreciated at that moment none the less. But Derek does not seem to appreciate Stiles words too caught in graveling before the Darach. 

 

`Please. Jen, please just let her go.´ Derek continued to plead which was perhaps far more frightening than having the Darach breathing down her neck, seeing Derek like this was almost enough to cause Stiles to doubt their chances of surviving the night it was almost as good as a knife to Stiles’ throat, seeing Derek already so defeated was terrifying to Stiles who had never seen him surrender before. 

 

`You know,´ the Darach says with a voice that was just a little bit on the angrier side now, and Stiles knows that whatever the bitch is going to say is meant to harm her confidence and faith, `all he really cares about is that little bastard growing inside you.´ Yes, that was the right knife to twist and turn, and Stiles felt her heart drop just a little bit more and it took all of her strength to fight-off the damn tear that threatened to fall, Stiles would not cry in front of this woman not even in pain.

 

`He really just wants you because of that baby,´ the poisonous voice whispered in her ear and Stiles has to close her eyes because she’s getting painfully close to crying, and she hates it, she absolutely hates how she’s become this weeping woman. 

 

`You should’ve heard the stuff he said about you,´ Stiles could feel the cruel smile the disfigured form wore as it spoke into her ear, `He told me how you were just a stupid child, desperate to be loved and noticed, he called you pathetic.´

 

`Not true. Not true. Stiles, please don’t listen to her.´ Derek says imploringly while Cora growled from somewhere near the stairs.

 

`But it is, all true and he knows it.´ the Darach says before snapping at Cora or maybe Isaac, `Was his answer a lie, yes or no? ´ 

 

`Stop. Please. I didn’t mean any of it. I didn’t know what I was saying.´ Derek says all desperate and Stiles nearly chocks on the sob that wants to escape her, and the Darach laughs with cruel delight there is something about that sound that causes a sudden surge of bitter anger to rise in Stiles heart and she twists and turns her body just enough to punch the monster in the jaw with all her might. Stiles hears the bones in her hand break and the pain radiates through her hand and up her wrist all the way up her arm, the pain is bad enough to cause her not to feel how someone pulls her away from the monster she’d punched in the face, and the next thing she sees is a flash of light colored hair, and she hears Isaac yell, `Take her!´ before she’s shoved around until she’s picked-up and being carried away by none other than Cora Hale. 

 

`H-hospital.´ Stiles grits out cradling her surely broken hand against her chest, there’s a sharp pain flashing and growing beneath the slowly stretching skin.

 


	25. I'm Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, short, short like a pair of short-shorts but at least we've got Isaac.

Hearing the truth of the Darach’s claim in Derek’s own voice, seeing the hurt the truth caused Stiles was the last bloody straw for Isaac Lahey who is up and running towards the bitch that continuously caused Stiles unjustifiable pain. He is so determined to stop any further harm to come to the girl he’d grown to care for somewhere between her placing herself between him and the kanima and the blueberry pie she’d baked him once she learned it was his favorite pie, he is so determined to save Stiles that he doesn’t feel the pain in his side or head anymore all he feels is the need to protect and kill.

  
There’s a sense of delight and pride that blooms inside of the werewolf when Stiles lands a great and greatly unexpected punch straight to that horrific face of the Darach, Isaac doesn’t pause to marvel at Stiles strength of will and ability to astonish him at every twist and turn of their fucked-up lives for he needs to get her away from the Darach and somewhere safer than this loft where it seemed nothing good could ever truly happen without it being closely followed by something horrible.

  
Isaac is quick even when in pain, easily he twirls Stiles away from the monster like he and Stiles were doing nothing more than dancing, he passes her on towards one of the Hale’s without taking his eyes off of the threat in the room, he can only trust that the person who catches Stiles will do the right thing and get her as far away from all of this as possible but to make sure they do he barks out, `Take her.´

  
Isaac slashes his claws across the horrific face of the creature that seemed to show its true colors in its appearance, this thing that had once been a beautiful woman screams in anger as well as pain none of which stops Isaac from digging his claws into the abdomen of the dark-creature. The stench and it is truly a stench unlike any Isaac had ever smelled when it came to the blood that rushed through this disgusting creature, the smell of blood be it a displeasing one draws out Isaac’s wolf which seemed to demand that they should diminish this thing before them into bloodied little pieces that not even a master or mistress of jigsaw-puzzles could put back together again.

  
He’s so caught up with rendering this deceitful bitch before him to nothing but shredded skin and broken bones that he doesn’t even notice how Derek has joined him, the creature they are ripping into screams and for once it doesn’t use any of its magical means to fight them at least not until the shock and surprise of the attack its suffered is worn off and suddenly there before them is a crying woman a bloodied-up.

  
`Please – stop.´ she coughs, begs, and Derek does step back with a look of pure horror when he sees the destruction they’d wrought but Isaac doesn’t step back for he’s no fool, Isaac knows not to trust this woman not after everything that she’d said and done to all of them, he is not taking his eyes off of this person who’d hurt Stiles in more than just one way.

  
`Please, ´ she whimpers and whines wide and seemingly terrified eyes locked on Derek and Isaac can tell that she’s doing something to sway Derek’s sense of reality, and so Isaac takes the bull by the horns and just brings his claws down and right across the pale throat of the woman that was clearly trying to drag Derek back into a state of being nothing more than a puppet.

  
There’s a part of Isaac that feels awful about what he’s done but another part feels relieved knowing that if the Darach is dead then Stiles is a little bit safer. But this, killing the Darach wasn’t something Isaac believed he should’ve been the one to do, it should’ve been Derek not him and that he was the one to slit her throat made him even angrier especially when he thought about the shit-load of trouble he would be in once the Sheriff and Melissa learned about the stupid mistake Isaac had made in the form of taking Stiles over to see and talk to Derek.

  
`You – you should’ve done this long ago and not me Derek. Not me!´ Isaac hisses at Derek who stares down at the body that gave a one last twitch before the last beat of a tainted heart was heard and the air inside the lunges left as if signaling the exit of a twisted soul.

  
`This is all your fault.´ Isaac growls before taking his first steps away from the body at his feet, `You stay the fuck away from Stiles, or I will – I will rip your throat out next.´ and Isaac is surprised by how strongly he means it, if Derek hurt Stiles anymore or just upset her the slightest he would most likely kill him.

  
`Isaac, ´ Derek croaks but Isaac barks at him to shut-up.

  
`You! You shut-the-fuck-up! She, ´ Isaac growls while pointing at the thing he’d killed, `was about to kill Stiles – she nearly killed us all, and I’m not really sure you even care.´

  
`I DO! ´ Derek cries out but Isaac is too angry to believe a thing Derek says at the moment, `I do care.´

  
`Whatever.´ Isaac grumbles before turning his back to his former-Alpha, `Just stay away from us before you get us all killed.´ and with that Isaac leaves, leaving Derek still on the floor and to deal with the mess Isaac had made while Isaac was left to deal with the consequences of his own poor decision making.

  
Isaac can’t stop fuming and he even snaps at Cora who’s barely got Stiles inside the Jeep, she might’ve taken a bit more time than necessary to wrap Stiles with one of the blankets she keeps inside the tired old Jeep.

  
`Are you coming?´ Isaac asks far too harshly before slipping behind the wheel not even looking at Cora because he’s afraid of what he might see, he fears she might judge his bloodied appearance and actions, `Or do you want to stay and help Derek.´

  
Cora understandably hesitates before slipping inside the Jeep right next to Stiles and taking her hand in her own, he is frankly surprised she chose them and not Derek but he’s also glad for it because although Isaac knows that none of this is Cora’s fault but he might be too weak of mind in his anger to see reason if things went horribly wrong for Stiles. 

 


	26. Disconnect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, how's things? Hopefully everything is well.  
> It's been a great while since my last update, but life and time. Life and time.  
> This chapter was one that really made me angry, and I had to pause many-many times since I just lost it with Derek. By the Gods, the guy is an idiot in this story.

There's a dreadful mess on the floor. A bloodied and gruesome mess that had been left behind by Isaac, who left the loft eyes bright with fury _and_ with Stiles.

 

Although Derek had wanted nothing more than to follow Stiles, to be at her side and ensure that both mother and child were alright, the anger that had come to consume Isaac was so palpable that Derek didn't dare to follow Stiles. He understood enough to be aware that the last thing anyone needed after everything that had transpired at the now silent loft, was for him and Isaac getting into a fight, especially not when Stiles was clearly in need of some medical attention.

 

The best thing Derek could do for Stiles and the baby was to stay behind. The best thing Derek could do for Stiles and the baby was to allow Isaac to take Stiles to the hospital, but it wasn't easy to leave Stiles in the care of the furious beta, staying behind went against the instincts of both Derek and his wolf.  

 

It was difficult to stay behind when every part of him wanted to make sure that Stiles and the baby were alright, but with how things were between him and Isaac as well as the Sheriff staying back was for the best.

Left to his own devices all of Derek's focus was captured by the grotesque mess Isaac left behind.

 

There's so much blood, the smell was so great that Derek feared it would never leave him be. The stench of the body that had started the slow process of decay, the smell was displeasing to his nose, and yet he did nothing to clear the body or the blood that stained the floor. Derek could not help but wonder if the stain of the foul blood would forever remain, a reminder of his failure and Isaac's quick actions. 

 

Derek knows he should clean the mess he had and hadn't created. It was his own actions that had brought forth the moment where Isaac had to bloody his claws. Derek just doesn't have the will or strength to move from his spot on the floor, he doesn't have the will to clean or to remove the evidence of Isaac's capability to kill when ending a life was the only way to secure the safety of a pack mate. Isaac had done what Derek should have, and although Isaac taking a life wasn't something Derek had ever wanted for Isaac, he was still glad that one more threat against Stiles and the baby had been dealt with. 

 

The lifeless stare directed at him by the corpse left behind for him to dispose, the unseeing gaze left Derek feeling uneasy. The frozen expression upon the face of the once cunning and twisted woman would haunt his dreams, perhaps replacing now Laura's expression of passing, unlike his sister Derek would not mourn _this_ woman.

 

With everyone gone, the great space felt suddenly dreadfully cold.

 

Left behind the way he had, Derek couldn't help but feel incredibly alone.

Sitting there, all alone, he quickly became lost in his bleak thoughts.

 

It genuinely bothered Derek that Isaac had been the one to kill the now dead woman, a woman who'd dared to threaten the well-being of Stiles and the baby.

 

Derek should've been the one to secure the safety of the mother and child, he knew it should've been his claws that ripped into the flesh of now dead woman. It should never have been Isaac who took the evil life of the wicked woman who was thankfully now dead, but it had been Isaac.

 

There were great many things Derek should've done and hadn't. 

 

Derek was well-aware that his life was full of failures, bad decisions and foolish actions, some more regretful than others. There seemed to be more regrets in his life than there should be for someone at his age, and Derek wouldn't wish that fate to even his worst enemy, guilt and regret were heavy burdens to carry at any age.

 

Although Derek would've rather been at Stiles' side than alone in the loft, he stayed away and suffered through the anxious wait to hear from either his sister or Stiles about the state of both mother and child. The wait, the separation, was pure torture to him and experience that was far worse than being tortured by Kate; of course, back when Kate had him chained-up Derek had nothing to lose or to liv for which was no longer the case.

 

It was difficult to give Stiles space, at least for now, but the fear of crossing paths with Stiles' father, the no doubt furious Sheriff, kept Derek in place. Derek genuinely feared that the Sheriff might try and deny him any at all access to the baby, Derek wouldn't put it past the man to try and do such a thing in his angered state. Still, regardless of Stiles' father Derek _would_ be part of the little life created by accident but loved none the less. Derek was determined to take care of both mother and child no matter the protests that the Sheriff might make, regardless of any wishes the Sheriff might have about Derek staying away he wouldn't. Derek would not abandon Stiles or their child just because of the Sheriff, or anyone else, he would be there no matter what. 

Derek refused to even think about losing yet another member of his family, another loved one. He simply wouldn't suffer more sorrow.

 

Sitting there on the floor, alone, feeling progressively worse about the choices he'd made and the damage his actions had caused, Derek can't help but think that the silence that surrounds him feels rather hostile, unforgiving even. This silent within which he felt trapped in, it felt very much like it would never break or change which only served to increase his already blooming anxiety.

 

Derek knows he should do something, that he should be useful in some little way. He knows he should do something other than sit there in his misery, but Derek just _feels_ unable to move. He knows he should remove all evidence of what had transpired at the loft, but for some reason he just couldn't do _anything_ but sit there, negative thoughts rushing through his mind mercilessly. Derek really should get rid of the body, clean away the blood until there was no sign of the bloodied act ever taking place in the miserable place he now called home, but cleaning the bloodied scene away wouldn't really change anything. Things would still be difficult and uncertain. 

With Stiles gone, carried away by Isaac the beta Derek had created and who was still someone Derek cared for. Isaac might not believe it, but Derek did care about him. Derek might care about Isaac, but at the moment he was certain that Isaac didn't care about him the slightest.

 

The last look Isaac threw in his direction before leaving had felt like a slap in the face, a kick in the balls when Isaac stopped looking at him like he was an alpha, a friend. Derek felt miserable over the way Isaac had looked at him, it was as if the young beta viewed him as something worthless. It was clear that Isaac had lost all respect for him, and that bothered Derek a bit, after all he'd already lost so much and many in his life.

 

Derek feels rejected, he feels genuinely deserted not only by Stiles but also by the beta that had sided with Stiles.

Derek feels like his own sister, who had only just returned to his life, abandoned him, dropped him like a hot-potato for the sake of staying in the good books of others; sure, she'd hesitated momentarily before leaving, but she left him feeling worse than worthless. Although he had concerns about his future relationship with his sister, there was still a small sense of comfort to be found in knowing that Cora was going to be with Stiles; even if Derek isn't entirely convinced that Cora is on his side, there was still a small hope in him that Cora would choose to protect the baby when push came to shove, after all the baby that was one of them, the baby was a Hale.

 

The baby was a new beginning, a new start not only for Derek and Stiles but the Hale pack too.

 

Derek becomes rather disconnected when it came to the passing of time. While it felt like time stood still to him, it did move on, passing unnoticed by him. He sat there, alone and miserable, his thoughts bleak in nature. Derek was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice when his uncle decided to make an appearance, not until a hand came to rest on his shoulder drawing Derek's attention towards his uncle who now stood beside him.

As soon as Derek looked up at his uncle, Peter asked him, `Care to tell me why there's a dead body here? And why you are just sitting here instead of getting rid of it? ´ The question falls from Peter's lips much as such a simple question such as, ` _Want a drink?_ ´would, which seemed perfectly normal for Peter these days but which would've raised eyebrows before the fire.

Although Derek is still at times very uneasy about what he shares with his uncle, not trusting his uncle or his motives entirely, Derek finds himself eager to share everything that had happened with in the loft, revealing to his uncle every detail of the conversation Derek had with Stiles.

 

Peter remained silent throughout the tale, allowing Derek to speak without being interrupted, remaining so for a little while once Derek had finished sharing what some might say was his side of the story. The silence that followed felt just a little bit unnerving to Derek, more so when he could see that Peter's mind was working out something, possibly planning something that Derek might not approve of.

`What a mess. ´ his uncle sighs after a little while of silence, an air of frustration there.

 

Turning his sharp gaze towards the body that remained unmoving and very much dead on the floor before them, a look of distain upon his face Peter repeated the words, `what a mess. ´

`I'll take care of this mess. ´ Peter says as he moves away from Derek and heads towards the bloodied remains, `I'll make sure there will be nothing left of this thing, ´ his uncle goes on to say while peering down at the woman who'd come between Derek and Stiles.

 

`You go, ´ Peter says, voice solid and sure, much like the voice of an Alpha should be, ` and make sure that the baby remains safe. ´

 

Derek hesitates to leave, to go after Stiles after all he'd been told to stay away and he feared the fallout that would follow if he did go to Stiles.

 

`What are you waiting for? ´ Peter almost growls, eyeing him with glowing eyes.

 

`I - I was...´ Derek starts but Peter cuts him off sharply, angrily.

 

`Are you going to let some boy order you around like some dog? ´ Peter positively snarls, `Go, make sure the mother of _your_ child is alright. And above all make sure the child is safe. Do not let that beta stand in your way.´

`Cora is with Stiles, I'm sure....´ Derek starts but again his uncle will have none of his excuses.

 

`Do not place _your_ responsibilities on the shoulders of your sister Derek. ´ Peter barks at him, eyes bright, `The well-being of that baby is yours, not Cora's. You made that baby, and thus it is your responsibility to make sure it comes to no harm. ´

 

Of course, Peter was right, everything about Stiles and the baby were Derek's responsibility. Stiles and the baby weren't Cora's responsibility, and Derek did know that very well. But he's still hesitant to leave, to face not only Isaac but the Sheriff who would no doubt be at Stiles' side once he learned she'd come to harm.

 

`Go. ´ Peter orders voice full of authority which he did not have, `There's no valid reason for you not to be at the side of the mother of your child. If that child was mine, I'd never leave Stiles' side. If that little life was mine, I'd spend the following months ensuring the baby and Stiles were safe and well, there would be _nothing_ in this world that could or would stop me.´ There is something about Peter's voice and the way he glares at him that again makes Derek wonder if Peter had somehow become an alpha, and it's the power behind the statement that followed that pushed Derek into motion.

`Go. Make sure your child is alright. ´

 

There's just something about Peter's voice that pushed Derek into motion, hurrying out of the loft without looking back, and without even being entirely sure whether or not he was going to do as Peter ordered or if he'd just drive around until Cora called him. Regardless of what he was going to do, or not going to do, Derek was none the less eager to escape the bloodied scene Isaac had left behind. Derek was more than happy to leave Peter to clean-up the mess Isaac had created.

**Author's Note:**

> OH and BEFORE someone starts shrieking about the whole killing innocent thing, I WANT everyone to know I WILL NOT argue about this or my own view of Pro-choice (although I am a firm believer you should do everything in your power to avoid getting pregnant unless you want the goddamn kid, but I also understand that accidents happen and there for I feel you as a woman should have the right to choose to end the pregnancy), and that is my own opinion! And yet for this story there might be a hint of disapproval towards abortions but it’s not my personal opinion, it simply fit the story. And I’m not going to argue about Pro-life or Pro-choice so please don’t start ranting about it because it’s just a waste of time LOVES.


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